Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. (Operator instructions) Mr. Snyder, our first question comes from Mark Monane at Needham. Please proceed.
Mark Monane – Needham
Thank you. Good morning and congratulations on your progress.
Kent Snyder
Thank you, Mark.
Mark Monane – Needham
I have a concrete question and a more abstract question. Regarding the Ajinomoto agreement, is that just a savory program, and then how are you evaluating success in terms of your penetration there? Are there cultural issues we should think about in terms of what is savory and what is not savory as you look at the different countries?
Kent Snyder
Mark, let me (inaudible) at that and I’ll ask John or Sharon to jump in as well. You are correct; the Ajinomoto launch has to do with a new savory flavor product containing a Senomyx savory flavor ingredient. Certainly, there are cultural differences from country to country in how savory flavor ingredients are used, but we do not anticipate that that’s going to be necessarily an issue since we know that Ajinomoto has done of a lot of factory work in their pre-commercialization activity. So we think that they’ve taken all those types of things into consideration.
John Poyhonen
I would just add, Kent, with the China market, which will be the first country that Ajinomoto will be conducting their launch, and right now, it’s estimate is that about half of the world’s monosodium glutamate or MSG are consumed in that marketplace. So certainly, there won’t be issues from a labeling perspective that we see in other markets in the United States and Europe for example. However, we think that this new flavor ingredient mix that’s being launched by Ajinomoto will create a very unique and interesting new flavor to provide choice for their customers. So I think, it’s a bit early to comment more than that, Mark, but that gives a little more perspective
Mark Monane – Needham
That’s helpful and we look forward to that result and coming revenue from there. And a more general question. When you think about partnership, I guess it can vary a lot depending on who the individual potential partner is and how the company thinks about it. Let me ask you how the company is thinking about partnerships going forward. Do you prefer a scenario in which you would license out a product for individual product like soup and give exclusivity there or are you looking more towards licensing out a product in a variety of sweet indications like Firmenich has regardless of the individual food category? Can you talk by the two different philosophies and how the company is evolving for us?
- To read the full transcript on Seeking Alpha, click here »
