In 2024, Swedish company Bioextrax signed a long-term joint development agreement (JDA) with a confectionery manufacturer (ranked among the top three globally, with annual sales exceeding €28.5 billion).
Recently, the confectionery manufacturer informed Bioextrax that its regulatory affairs team has completed its evaluation of the relevant materials and decided to proceed to the next phase-an evaluation by a testing team of chewing gum containing PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates) produced using Bioextrax technology.
This collaboration aims to assess the feasibility of Bioextrax's PHO (polyhydroxyoctanoate)-a medium-chain PHA (mcl-PHA)-as a bio-based, biodegradable ingredient in chewing gum. Currently, this type of mcl-PHA is not commercially available, but Bioextrax has made large-scale production possible through its patented extraction process. In December 2025, Bioextrax also filed a patent application for a purification process for this type of mcl-PHA. Existing commercially available PHA types are not suitable for this type of application. This joint development agreement covers production scaling and application testing, with the work primarily funded by the confectionery manufacturer.
The development project phases include:
*material performance evaluation of Bioextrax PHO;
*regulatory compliance assessment;
*and sensory evaluation conducted by a testing team.
As previously disclosed, the confectionery manufacturer has approved the material performance of Bioextrax PHO. Following positive results from the regulatory assessment, the confectionery manufacturer is now ready to move on to the final step: sensory evaluation.
Several preparatory documents need to be completed before the testing team evaluation can proceed, and Bioextrax has not yet been informed of a specific completion date for the sensory evaluation. If the sensory evaluation results are positive, the project will move to the next phase-the pilot production phase. In the pilot production phase, Bioextrax will gradually increase production and deliver products to the confectionery manufacturer for the development of a larger-scale prototype.
Bioextrax CEO Edvard Hall stated, "We received this message from the confectionery manufacturer later than expected. However, this delay stemmed from the in-depth analysis of the material, meaning that all relevant regulatory conditions had been thoroughly reviewed. Given that regulatory approval is one of the most significant risk factors when introducing new food ingredients, this news is a major milestone. This is a project with enormous potential for Bioextrax. The potential usage volume that the confectionery manufacturer conveyed to us is substantial. Based on their price level, the potential annual sales value of PHO under full commercialization conditions would exceed €95 million."
