Microbiogen

All around the globe, industries and individuals must transition to renewable energy sources if humanity is to survive and thrive over the next century. Here at MicroBioGen our projects are carefully designed to help achieve this goal. Additionally, we offer our employees the opportunity to be involved in real scientific research aimed at creating a sustainable future.

We strongly believe in maintaining balance between work and personal life. Our flexible working hours, long-term incentives, and ongoing quest to advance sustainability through science have resulted in a highly trained work force with an average employment duration of over 10 years. We are proud to embrace the diversity amongst our employees, with a 50:50 male to female ratio and more than half of our employees born overseas.

High quality collaborations are the key to our success, and we are always open to new partnerships where new opportunities are identified.

MicroBioGen was formed in 2001 by four principals, with Dr Philip Bell and Dr Paul Attfield leading the scientific team. The main aim of the company was to develop a world-leading technology platform for improving and expanding applications of the world’s most utilised micro-organism – the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is essential to industries worth over US$1 trillion per year.

Our first target was to deliver a new and game-changing yeast that could improve the production economics of biofuels from both food and non-food sources. All our scientists are passionate about the environment and solutions required for a sustainable future. As part of our development program, complementary applications were also targeted over time.

Industrial biotechnology is a complex area of science and we realised early on that the successful development of a new platform technology would take significant time and resources. Our company has been – and continues to be – very careful in managing its cash resources to ensure success over the longer term. Geoff Bell, who has been MicroBioGen’s CEO since 2006, has ensured that each dollar spent is maximised with over 85% of spending directly on R+D, with much of it matched through three matching Commonwealth Government grants totalling A$9M.