The European Union has awarded an €8 million grant to the ShikiFactory100 project to develop a universe of more than 100 high-value compounds from the shikimate pathway, a hub in cell metabolism, through the development of optimized cell chassis and the implementation of novel biosynthetic routes for the generation of known, and new to nature, molecules. These compounds will find applications principally in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors.

ShikiFactory100 is an international collaboration between some of Europe's most relevant players in the biotechnology sector and coordinated by biotech SME, SilicoLife. Partners range from leading research institutions and industrial companies, including: Technical University of Denmark (Denmark), European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Germany), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (Portugal), University of Manchester (UK), University of Minho (Portugal), c-LEcta (Germany), GalChimia (Spain), NNFCC (UK), and DSM (Netherlands).