eXoZymes Launches Subsidiary, NCTx, to Unlock a Promising Compound for Gut and Liver Health

Rhea-AI Summary

eXoZymes (NASDAQ:EXOZ) has launched a new subsidiary, NCTx, focused on developing N-trans-caffeoyltyramine (NCT), a rare plant compound with potential applications in liver and gut health. Using eXoZymes' AI-driven platform, NCTx has developed a proprietary approach to biomanufacture NCT, overcoming previous sourcing limitations where it was only found in trace amounts (less than 0.014%) in hemp seeds.

The company completed proof of concept in just 6 weeks and established the subsidiary in 12 weeks, demonstrating unprecedented speed in bio-manufacturing innovation. Pre-clinical studies show NCT's potential in treating Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), which affects over 30% of the global population. The target market for bioactive ingredients in functional food is valued at $216 billion with a 7.6% CAGR globally.

Positive

• Rapid development from idea to subsidiary in less than 3 months, demonstrating efficient R&D process
• Proprietary technology to produce NCT at commercially viable scale, protected by patent application
• Targeting large market opportunity with $216B functional food ingredients market growing at 7.6% CAGR
• Potential to develop new-to-nature analogs expanding pharmaceutical applications
• Successful proof of concept validated through 25 study repetitions

Negative

• Product still in early stages with only pre-clinical data available
• Commercialization timeline and costs not disclosed
• No proven revenue stream yet from the new subsidiary

• N-trans-caffeoyltyramine (NCT) is a natural product compound attracting considerable interest from researchers and drug developers for its potential role in healthy liver fat metabolism, gut barrier function, and mitochondrial activity.

• eXoZymes used its AI-driven development platform to progress from idea to purpose-built subsidiary in less than 3 months and at a fraction of normal SynBio R&D cost.

• NCTx is scaling up an exozyme biosolution to overcome a longstanding bottleneck in sourcing the NCT compound from nature, where it occurs only in trace amounts.

• Interesting pre-clinical data point towards Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) that affects more than 30% of the global population.

• Only NCTx can make both the natural product NCT, and a range of very interesting new-to-nature analog versions, expanding the pharma potential.

• NCT is the first of more "powered by eXoZymes" natural product nutraceuticals, that also have the potential to become pharmaceuticals.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / May 6, 2025 / Today at the yearly SynBioBeta conference, eXoZymes Inc. (NASDAQ:EXOZ) ("eXoZymes") - a pioneer of AI-engineered enzymes that can transform sustainable feedstock into nutraceuticals, medicines, and other essential chemicals - announced the formation of 'NCTx, LLC' (NCTx), a purpose-built subsidiary company focused on the development and production of N-trans-caffeoyltyramine - a very rare, plant-derived compound with emerging relevance in the areas of metabolic health, gut integrity, and liver function.

To date, NCT has not been available at commercially viable qualities and quantities. Naturally found in quantities less than 0.014% per hemp seed, its commercial use has been severely limited despite its immense potential. Using eXoZymes' AI-driven exozymes platform, NCTx has a new and proprietary approach - subject to a patent application - to biomanufacture NCT with all the scale-up advantages of an exozyme biosolution.

CEO of eXoZymes and interim CEO of NCTx, Michael Heltzen, states, "To me, the 'x' in NCTx represents all the new-to-nature analogs of NCT that only exozymes can unlock via BioClick and other proprietary tools in our 'enzymes x AI' tech stack. With time, this could start a new gold rush era for AI designed and engineered small molecules in pharma, as our platform has the potential to revisit most existing natural product compounds and drug targets with the promise of producing new as well as better analogs and derivatives, with new therapeutic potential and features. The potential upside here is multiple billion dollar markets, so needless to say we're very enthusiastic about the prospects of this next generation of small molecule engineering and biomanufacturing."

Chief Commercial Officer at eXoZymes, Damien Perriman, adds, "Launching NCTx, is a milestone in going from idea to demonstrated target - a breakthrough in speed for bio-manufacturing innovation. Proof of concept was completed in 6 weeks and the subsidiary assembled in 12 weeks - a speed of development I have not seen before in synthetic biology. And it's not just a lucky one-off instance, as we have repeated the study 25 times to validate our proprietary exozyme biosolution to produce NCT. With this proof of concept in hand, we are well positioned to advance through scale-up and start providing samples for our future nutraceutical and pharmaceutical partners.

Demand for bioactive ingredients in functional food is a $216 bn market and yearly growing at 7.6% CAGR globally.

NCT has attracted growing interest from researchers for its potential role in supporting healthy liver fat metabolism, gut barrier function, and mitochondrial activity-all of which are associated with broader metabolic and inflammatory processes. Preclinical studies have shown:

• Enhanced fat breakdown and mitochondrial output in liver cells

• No observed toxicity in short-term animal models

• NAFLD (now called MASLD) treatment candidate potential

• Modulation of gut-related gene expression linked to intestinal balance

For more information, please go to nctx.one or see video interviews here.

About eXoZymes
Founded in 2019, the company has developed a biomanufacturing platform that - as a historic first - offers the tools and insights to design, engineer, control and optimize nature's own natural processes to produce chemical compounds, enabling the company's partners to replace traditional petro-chemical production methods with a new commercially scalable, sustainable, and eco-friendly alternative: exozymes.

Exozymes are advanced enzymes enhanced through AI and bioengineering to thrive in a bioreactor outside of living cells. Exozymes can replace toxic petrochemical processes and inefficient biochemical extraction with sustainable and scalable biosolutions that transform biomass into essential chemicals, medicines, and biofuels.

By freeing enzyme-driven chemical reactions from the limitations imposed by cells, exozyme biosolutions eliminate the scaling bottleneck that has hampered commercial success in the synthetic biology (SynBio) space, making exozymes the next generation of biomanufacturing.

While the company, eXoZymes Inc., has introduced "exozymes" as a scientific concept, they are not trademarking the concept, as they view it as a new nomenclature for wide adoption for this next generation of biomanufacturing that eXoZymes aims to pioneer and be the market leader of.

Learn more on exozymes.com

eXoZymes Safe Harbor

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the company's future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "goal," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "strategy," "future," "likely," "potential," or other comparable terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding the company's strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially for a variety of reasons. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of eXoZymes' quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports on Form 10-K, and other documents filed by eXoZymes from time to time by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and eXoZymes assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. eXoZymes does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

eXoZymes contact
Lasse Görlitz, VP of Communications
(858) 319-7135
press@exozymes.com

SOURCE: eXoZymes

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

What is NCTx and what does eXoZymes (EXOZ) plan to do with it?

NCTx is a new subsidiary of eXoZymes focused on developing N-trans-caffeoyltyramine (NCT), a rare compound for liver and gut health. The subsidiary aims to biomanufacture NCT at commercial scale using AI-driven enzyme technology.

What is the market potential for EXOZ's NCT compound?

NCT targets the bioactive ingredients market in functional food, valued at $216 billion with 7.6% CAGR. It has potential applications in treating Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, which affects over 30% of the global population.

How long did it take eXoZymes to develop NCTx?

eXoZymes completed the proof of concept in 6 weeks and established the subsidiary in 12 weeks, using their AI-driven development platform.

What are the pre-clinical results for EXOZ's NCT compound?

Pre-clinical studies showed enhanced fat breakdown and mitochondrial output in liver cells, no observed toxicity in short-term animal models, and potential for NAFLD treatment, along with modulation of gut-related gene expression.

What makes EXOZ's NCT production unique?

eXoZymes' proprietary approach uses AI-driven exozymes to biomanufacture NCT at commercial scale, overcoming traditional limitations where NCT was only found in trace amounts (0.014%) in hemp seeds.