Fermentas UAB
Fermentas
LT-02241 Vilnius
V. Graiciuno 8
LT
http://www.fermentas.com

Dr. Arvydas Lubys
R&D Laboratory
LT-2028 Vilnius
V. Graiciuno 8
LT
Phone 00370-5-2602145
Fax 00370-5-2602142
e-mail: lubys@fermentas.lt

Fermentas UAB is a privately owned biotechnology company with operating history dating back to 1975 and located in Vilnius. The Company's product range consists of more than 600 different molecular biology products for life science research. Fermentas employs 230 people, 90% of whom have university degrees in chemistry, biochemistry or molecular biology including
26 PhDs and two professors. The turnover in 2006 was 14.7 M Euro.

Fermentas is an ISO09001, ISO140001 accredited company, a spin-off from the former Institute of Applied Enzymology. After spin-off in 1994 until privatization in 1995 Fermentas operated as a state owned entity, and since privatization the company has consistently invested into sales infrastructure and Fermentas brand awareness while utilizing its broad scientific knowledge on R&D to develop quality products.

The company holds about 5% of the world market for restriction endonucleases, 4% for DNA markers and is the second largest commercial restriction enzyme source, globally, with 189 restriction enzymes commercially available. The company has wide expertise in gene cloning, in purification of both native and recombinant proteins, as well as in custom purification of plasmid DNA and other nucleic acids. Fermentas has extensive experience in identification and characterization of DNA interacting enzymes, mainly restriction enzymes, and also substantial knowledge regarding DNA polymerases. Recently some of the Company's R&D projects were focused on alteration of enzymes properties either by rational design or evolution in vitro, which have resulted in several proprietary artificially engineered enzymes exhibiting novel specificities.

The research is carried out at the R&D center which employs >30 scientists.
The center is well equipped for both microbiology and molecular biology techniques, and for the purification and characterisation of proteins and nucleic acids. The equipment available in the laboratory includes two PCR machines, real-time PCR machine, UV-spectrometer, Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography system (Akta FPLC), DNA sequencing systems ABI 377 and ALFexpress II. The company offers training possibilities for the Vilnius University students. On average, five diploma students are accepted every year to carry out experimental work for a diploma thesis in the R&D center headed by Dr. A.Lubys. Efforts of their supervisors are devoted to familiarize diploma students with the repertoire of techniques that are required to study the structure and function of DNA/RNA enzymes.

Within the this network Fermentas intensifies the training of early stage researchers working in the R&D center. Moreover, we are highly interested in collaborating with the bio-informatics group in Warsaw to address questions on structurally/functionally important regions of restriction enzymes and modeling of their tertiary structures. In turn, we support our partners using our expertise in cloning, expression and purification of restriction endonucleases/ nucleases and in vitro evolution techniques. Also, we share our collection of isoschizomers of commercial restriction enzymes.

Fermentas has established collaborations with the Institute of Biotechnology (Vilnius). These collaborations include common seminars and lectures, sharing the information about interesting biochemical properties of commercial restriction enzymes, providing bacterial producers or genes of interesting restriction enzymes for scientists from the Institute.