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UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
ý ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13
OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31,
2004
or
o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13
OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from
to
Commission File Number 000-50791
SENOMYX,
INC.
(Exact name of registrant
as specified in its charter)
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Delaware
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33-0843840
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(State or other
jurisdiction of incorporation
or organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
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11099
North Torrey Pines Road
La Jolla, California
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92037
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(Address of principal
executive offices)
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(Zip Code)
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(858) 646-8300
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
None
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
Common
Stock, par value $.001 per share
(Title
of class)
Indicate by check mark
whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13
or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12
months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file
such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the
past 90 days. Yes ý No o
Indicate by check mark if
disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not
contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s
knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by
reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. Yes o No ý
Indicate by check mark
whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2
of the Act). Yes o No ý
As of June 30, 2004,
the aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non–affiliates of the
registrant, computed by reference to the last sale price of such stock as of
such date on the NASDAQ National Market, was approximately $55,531,900.
Excludes an aggregate of 15,853,152 shares of common stock held by officers and
directors and by each person known by the registrant to own 5% or more of the
outstanding common stock as of June 30, 2004. Exclusion of shares held by
any of these persons should not be construed to indicate that such person
possesses the power, direct or indirect, to direct or cause the direction of
the management or policies of the registrant, or that such person is controlled
by or under common control with the registrant.
As of February 28,
2005, there were 25,435,739 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock
outstanding.
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:
Portions
of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2005 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant
to Regulation 14A not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year
covered by this Form 10-K, are incorporated by reference in Part III,
Items 10-14 of this Form 10-K.
2
SENOMYX, INC.
Annual
Report on Form 10-K
For the
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2004
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
3
SPECIAL
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. All statements included or incorporated by reference in this Annual
Report on Form 10-K other than statements of historical fact, are
forward-looking statements. You can identify these and other forward-looking
statements by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “anticipate,” “expect,”
“intend,” “believe,” “continue” or the negative of such terms, or other
comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements also include the assumptions
underlying or relating to such statements.
Our actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors,
including those set forth below under the caption “Risk Factors” in Part II
Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and elsewhere in
this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we undertake no
obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or
circumstances that exist after the date on which they are made except as
required by law.
PART I
Item 1. Business
Overview
We are
a biotechnology company using proprietary taste receptor-based assays and
screening technologies to discover and develop novel flavors, flavor enhancers
and taste modulators for the packaged food and beverage industry. We believe
our flavor ingredients will enable packaged food and beverage companies to
improve the nutritional profile of their products and may generate cost of
goods savings, while maintaining or enhancing taste. We license our flavor
ingredients to our collaborators on an exclusive basis, which we believe we will
provide these companies with the ability to differentiate their products. We
have entered into product discovery and development collaborations with four of
the world’s leading packaged food and beverage companies: Campbell Soup
Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods Global, Inc. and Nestlé SA. We
currently anticipate that we will derive all of our revenues from existing and
future collaborations. Our existing collaboration agreements provide for
research and development funding, milestone payments based upon our achievement
of research or development goals and, in the event of commercialization,
royalties on future sales of consumer products incorporating our flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators. Our current programs focus on the
development of savory, sweet and salt flavor enhancers and bitter taste
modulators. In addition, future collaboration agreements may provide for
up-front license fees.
Flavors
are substances that impart tastes or aromas in foods and beverages. Individuals
experience the sensation of taste when flavors in food and beverage products
interact with taste receptors in the mouth. A taste receptor functions either
by physically binding to a flavor ingredient in a process analogous to the way
a key fits into a lock or by acting as a channel to allow ions to flow directly
into a taste cell. As a result of these interactions, signals are sent to the
brain where a specific taste sensation is registered. There are currently five
recognized primary senses of taste: umami, which is the savory taste of
glutamate, sweet, salt, bitter and sour.
We are
currently pursuing savory, sweet and salt flavor enhancer and bitter taste modulator
discovery and development programs. The goals of our savory program are to
enhance the taste of naturally occurring glutamate and enable the reduction or
elimination of added MSG. The goals of our sweet program are to enhance the
taste of natural and artificial sweeteners and enable a significant reduction
in added sweeteners. The goals of our salt program are to enhance the taste of
salt and enable a significant reduction in added salt. The goals of our bitter taste modulation
program are to reduce or block bitter taste and improve the overall taste
characteristics of packaged foods, beverages, over the counter (or OTC) health
care products and pharmaceutical products.
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Industry Background
Packaged Food and Beverage Industry
Packaged
food and beverage products include carbonated and non-carbonated beverages,
frozen foods, snack foods, ice cream, pasta, canned soup and numerous other
products. According to recent data from Euromonitor International, an
independent research organization, worldwide sales of packaged food and
beverage products in 2003 were approximately $1.2 trillion, of which $260
billion was generated in the United States. Based on these estimates, of the
worldwide total, sales of packaged foods were approximately $958 billion and
sales of non-alcoholic beverages were approximately $278 billion. Based on
recent data from Euromonitor, Information Resources, Inc. and our
collaborators’ 2003 annual reports, we estimate that our collaborators’
combined worldwide sales in 2003 of their products that fall within their
exclusive product fields were $38 billion. Our collaboration agreements provide
that we will receive a royalty of 1% to 4% on our collaborators’ sales of
products containing our flavors, flavor enhancers or taste modulators. However,
our collaborators may not incorporate our flavors, flavor enhancers and taste
modulators into all of their products within their exclusive product fields.
Each
of our flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators addresses large,
potentially overlapping markets. The following table sets forth the four primary
taste areas on which we are focused and, for each taste area, provides examples
of product categories that could incorporate ingredients in those taste areas,
estimated worldwide sales, growth rates in 2003 and our estimates of the
worldwide sales for food and beverage products that fall within our existing
collaborators’ exclusive product fields.
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Taste Areas
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Example Product Categories
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2003 Estimated
Worldwide Sales(1)
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Estimated
Growth
Rate Over
2002(1)
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2003 Estimated
Revenues Of
Existing
Collaborators
In Exclusive
Product Fields(2)
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Savory
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Ready meals, sauces, spreads, frozen foods,
beverages, meal replacements, soups, pastas, dried foods, snack foods,
processed meats, processed cheeses and cracker products
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$
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362 billion
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4.7
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%
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$
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7.2 billion
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Sweet
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Confectionaries, cereal, ice cream, beverages,
yogurt, dessert, spreads and bakery products
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$
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455 billion
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4.4
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%
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$
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15.7 billion
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Salt
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Product categories are the same as those set forth
for savory taste area plus canned foods and bakery products
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$
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400 billion
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4.5
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%
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$
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10.2 billion
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Bitter
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Products which contain bitter tastants, including
confectionary, beverages, ice cream, ready meals, canned foods and soups, and
products which utilize certain artificial sweeteners
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$
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428 billion
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4.6
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%
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$
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5.4 billion
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(1) According
to recent Euromonitor data for packaged food and beverages, excluding
pharmaceutical and OTC health care applications.
(2) Based
on recent data from Euromonitor, Information Resources, Inc. and our
collaborators’ 2003 annual reports.
Flavor Industry
Flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators are used in a variety of packaged food
and beverage products throughout the world. Flavors are substances that impart
tastes or aromas in foods or beverages. Flavor enhancers and taste modulators are
substances that supplement, enhance or modify the original flavor or aroma of
foods, without necessarily imparting noticeable flavors or aromas. Flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators can originate from either naturally
occurring or chemically synthesized compounds.
5
While
some packaged food and beverage companies have their own internal research and
development programs, most have traditionally relied on purchases of flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators from third parties. Historically,
flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators have been sold on a commodity
basis by independent manufacturers who make their products broadly available to
packaged food and beverage companies on a non-exclusive basis. This has limited
the ability of packaged food and beverage companies to use flavors, flavor
enhancers and taste modulators to differentiate their brands from competitors.
Traditionally,
flavor companies have discovered new flavors, flavor enhancers and taste
modulators primarily using inefficient, non-automated and labor-intensive trial
and error processes involving a limited number of trained taste testers. Using
this approach, taste testers must physically taste each potential flavor and
flavor enhancer compound to assess the taste characteristics of the compound.
Taste testers can assess only a limited number of potential flavors or flavor
enhancers at one time due to the sensory fatigue that results from repeated
tasting. As a result, only a small fraction of the available universe of
compounds can be tested economically.
In the
United States, most flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators are
regulated as GRAS substances under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act, or FD&C Act. GRAS determinations for most new flavors, flavor
enhancers and taste modulators are made by an independent panel of scientists
administered by FEMA. Under the FEMA GRAS process we expect that for each of
our flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators it will take 12 to 18 months
and cost less than $1 million to conduct the safety studies and complete the
review by the FEMA expert panel. Once a flavor or flavor enhancer is determined
to be FEMA GRAS, it may be immediately incorporated into products for test
marketing and commercialization in the United States and in a number of other
countries.
Flavors, Flavor Enhancers and Taste Modulators
as a Source of Competitive Advantage
The
packaged food and beverage industry is comprised of a number of large and
highly competitive market segments. Small market share gains in specific large
market segments can translate into significant additional revenue for packaged
food and beverage companies. For example, according to recent Euromonitor data,
estimated 2003 worldwide sales of soft drinks were approximately $237.0
billion. Thus, an increase of a tenth of a percentage point in overall
worldwide market share would result in additional revenue of approximately
$237.0 million.
As a
result of these market opportunities, packaged food and beverage companies are
constantly seeking ways to differentiate their products, demand for which can
be greatly affected by very small actual or perceived improvements in flavor or
health profiles. Flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators can potentially
provide an important way to differentiate a particular product through enhanced
taste, health benefits, flavor ingredient exclusivity and cost of goods
savings.
• Taste.
Product taste is a critical competitive factor for packaged food and
beverage companies. These companies seek to use flavors, flavor enhancers and
taste modulators to improve or maintain taste while improving the nutritional profile
of packaged food and beverage products or reducing ingredient costs.
• Health Benefits. Packaged food and beverage companies are
exploring ways to improve overall nutritional quality of their products. It is
widely accepted that poor diet contributes to adverse health conditions such as
cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. To address these concerns, many
companies have introduced reduced calorie, reduced sodium and reduced fat
content products to the market. Flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators
with specific desired characteristics provide an innovative way to reduce the
levels of ingredients that may contribute to these concerns without
compromising desirable taste attributes.
• Flavor Ingredient Exclusivity. Failure of packaged food and beverage
companies to differentiate their brands from their competition, including
private label products, may result in significant loss of market share, price
pressure and erosion of profit margins. Packaged food and beverage companies
spend millions of dollars creating brands and brand images to compete with
other products. Many of these competitive products contain the same or similar
flavor ingredients. The limited availability of proprietary flavors, flavor
enhancers and taste modulators makes it difficult for manufacturers to
differentiate their products based on flavor ingredients.
6
• Cost of Goods Savings. The packaged food and beverage industry
purchases enormous volumes of raw materials to produce their products.
According to CMP Information Limited, an independent research organization,
estimated worldwide sugar production in 2002 was over 135 million tons at a
total value exceeding $37.0 billion. Similarly, according to the 2003 Chemical
Economics Handbook, worldwide consumption of MSG was nearly 1.6 million metric
tons in 2002 at a cost of $1.4 billion. Flavors, flavor enhancers and taste
modulators can potentially facilitate a reduction in the volume of these
ingredients used in packaged food and beverage products, which could result in
significant decreases in costs and associated increases in profit margins.
Our Solution
We use
our proprietary taste receptor-based assays and screening technologies to
discover and develop novel flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators. We
have developed proprietary taste receptor-based assays that incorporate human
taste receptors. We use these assays in our high-throughput screening systems
to rapidly and efficiently screen our compound libraries and identify large
numbers of novel potential flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators. We
believe our approach improves the likelihood that compounds with the desired
characteristics can be discovered and then optimized into novel flavors, flavor
enhancers or taste modulators.
We
believe our approach will result in the discovery and development of flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators that will provide the following valuable
solutions to the following key challenges faced by the packaged food and
beverage industry:
• Maintaining and Improving Taste. We are developing flavors, flavor enhancers
and taste modulators to enable our collaborators to improve or maintain taste
while improving the nutritional profile of packaged food and beverage products
or reducing ingredient costs.
• Reducing Sugar, Salt and MSG in Packaged Food and
Beverage Products. We are
developing flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators to enable our
collaborators to significantly reduce the levels of sugar, salt and MSG in
packaged food and beverage products while maintaining or improving taste. We
believe reducing the levels of such ingredients will improve the nutritional
profile of packaged food and beverage products.
• Blocking Undesirable Tastes. We are discovering taste modulators that we
believe will be useful in blocking bitter and other unwanted tastes associated
with certain packaged food, beverage, OTC health care products and
pharmaceutical products.
• Obtaining Exclusive Use of Proprietary Flavors,
Flavor Enhancers and Taste Modulators. We
are able to offer our collaborators exclusive use of our proprietary flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators in defined packaged food and beverage
product categories. We believe this approach will assist our collaborators in
differentiating their products from those of their competitors.
• Reducing Cost of Goods. We believe our proprietary flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators will enable our collaborators to reduce
overall raw material ingredient costs, particularly for those products
containing high levels of natural and artificial sweeteners and MSG.
Our Strategy
Our
goal is to become the leader in discovering, developing and commercializing new
and improved flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators. Key elements of
our strategy include:
• Collaborating With Leading Packaged Food and Beverage
Companies. We are
collaborating with leading packaged food and beverage companies to develop and
commercialize our product candidates. Our collaborators are responsible for
marketing, selling and distributing their products incorporating our flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators. As a result, we expect to commercialize
our flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators without incurring significant
sales, marketing and distribution costs. We currently have collaborations with
Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods and Nestlé.
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• Developing Flavors, Flavor Enhancers and Taste Modulators
that are Eligible for FEMA GRAS Determination.
We are focused on continuing the development of flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators that will qualify for a FEMA GRAS
determination. We expect the FEMA GRAS process will take 12 to 18 months from
initiation of safety studies through the GRAS determination for each of our flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators. Upon the GRAS determination, our
collaborators can begin to test market and commercialize products incorporating
our flavors, flavor enhancers or taste modulators. In the event that a
particular flavor enhancer or taste modulator is not eligible for FEMA GRAS
determination, we will dedicate our development efforts to alternative
compounds.
• Pursuing Additional Collaborations and Market Opportunities. We seek to establish additional
collaborations with leading packaged food and beverage companies to use flavors,
flavor enhancers or taste modulators developed through our existing programs
for exclusive use within new packaged food and beverage product fields. We
intend to receive from future collaborators license fees, research and
development funding, milestone payments and royalties on future sales of
products incorporating these flavors, flavor enhancers or taste modulators. In
addition, we plan to target fields in which our collaborators can incorporate
more than one of our flavors, flavor enhancers or taste modulators into a
particular product.
• Expanding Our Product Candidate Pipeline. We will continue to focus on the
discovery and development of additional flavor ingredients based on additional
taste receptors to address new taste areas. We also intend to improve the
beneficial characteristics of our current product candidates through the
development of next-generation flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators.
We will also continue to consider applications of our current products and
technologies outside of the packaged food and beverage industry.
• Maintaining and Expanding Technology Position. We believe our proprietary taste
receptor-based technologies, including our receptor discovery, assay
development and high-throughput screening technologies and natural and
synthetic compound libraries, provide us and our collaborators with significant
competitive advantages. We intend to continue to develop and acquire
proprietary technologies and related intellectual property rights to expand and
enhance our ability to discover and develop new proprietary flavors, flavor
enhancers and taste modulators.
Our Discovery and Development Process
The
following diagram summarizes our discovery and development process.
The
key elements of our Discovery and Development process are:
• Proprietary Taste Receptor-Based Assay
Development. The first step
in our discovery and development process is to develop proprietary assays based
on human taste receptors. Our assays are tests that measure interactions
between the taste receptors and potential flavors, flavor enhancers and taste
modulators. To date we have developed assays to test for compounds that affect
savory, sweet and salt taste. We are in the process of developing an assay for
bitter taste receptors.
• High-throughput Screening and Identification of Lead
Compounds. The next step in
our discovery and development process is to use our proprietary taste
receptor-based assays to identify compounds that bind to human taste receptors,
known as hits. We use automated high-throughput screening to rapidly evaluate
our libraries of diverse synthetic and natural compounds. A panel of taste testers
then evaluates the taste effect of the most potent hits. Based on this
evaluation, we designate hits that exhibit a positive taste effect as
proof-of-concept compounds. We then select the most promising of those
proof-of-concept compounds, which we call lead compounds, for optimization.
• Optimization of Lead Compounds and Selection of
Product Candidates. The next
step in our discovery and development process is to chemically enhance, or
optimize, our lead compounds to allow lower amounts of
8
the compound to be
used in the finished product or improve the enhancement effect to meet the
taste attribute goals of our collaborators. Optimization may also be required
to enhance the safety profile or to improve the physical properties of a
compound so that it is stable under manufacturing, storage and food preparation
conditions. We refer to optimized compounds that provide desirable taste
attributes in packaged food and beverage product prototypes as product candidates.
• Safety Studies and FEMA GRAS Determination of Product
Candidates. The next step in
our discovery and development process is to select, in conjunction with our
collaborators, one or more product candidates for commercialization. We then
evaluate the selected product candidate for safety. Following this evaluation,
we submit the safety data along with the physical and chemical properties of
the product candidate and a description of manufacturing and conditions of
intended use to the FEMA GRAS expert panel for review. Once our collaborator
selects a product candidate for commercialization, the FEMA GRAS process takes
approximately 12 to 18 months from initiation of safety studies through the
GRAS determination, depending upon the timing of the FEMA Expert Panel
meetings. We intend to use the data from the FEMA GRAS review to facilitate
approval of our flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators for use in
products sold outside of the United States.
Following
a FEMA GRAS determination, foods and beverages containing our proprietary flavors,
flavor enhancers and taste modulators can be immediately commercialized in the
United States. We anticipate, however, that our collaborators will test market
their products containing our flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators
through a series of consumer acceptance tests over a period of 6 to 12 months
prior to initiating any wide-scale commercialization.
Our Discovery and Development
Programs
We are
currently pursuing the discovery and development of flavors, flavor enhancers
and taste modulators through programs focused on savory, sweet, salt and
bitter. The following diagram indicates the principal compounds we are
developing in each program, and the current status of each compound.
Savory Enhancer Program
Using
SavoryScreenHT, our high-throughput savory receptor-based assay system, we have
identified two product candidates, S336 and S807, that enhance the savory taste
of glutamate. We believe that these product candidates will enhance the taste
of naturally occurring glutamate and/or enable the reduction or elimination of
added MSG and inosine monophosphate, or IMP, an expensive savory enhancer of
MSG taste, in a variety of foods and savory beverages, while maintaining or
improving the desired savory taste.
To
demonstrate the taste properties of S336 and S807, we tested each compound
against a reference sample consisting of MSG and IMP in amounts typically used
in foods to impart a savory taste. We tasted this reference sample against test
samples containing MSG and either S336 or S807 at concentrations of the test
compound of up to 3 parts per million, or ppm, which is typical of the
concentrations of FEMA GRAS flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators.
In
these tests, S336 enhanced the savory taste of MSG and, at the level used, was
significantly more potent than IMP in the reference sample. In a separate test,
a solution of S336 alone, in the absence of MSG and IMP, was found
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to be
more savory than the reference sample. Based on these results, we believe that
the use of S336 may allow for a significant reduction or replacement of added
MSG and IMP in savory foods. In separate tests, S807 also enhanced the savory
taste of MSG and provided for a three-fold reduction in MSG levels, yet
maintained the same savory taste of the reference sample. S336 and S807 have
also each been shown to enhance the savory taste of MSG in a product prototype.
Our
collaborator has evaluated S336 and S807 for savory taste enhancement in
product prototypes. S336 is approximately three times more potent than S807 in
taste tests and exhibits greater water solubility compared to S807. Other
characteristics, such as heat stability, are similar for the two compounds. Based
on the results of such studies, our collaborator formally selected both S336
and S807 for development.
We
completed the safety assessment studies for S807 and S336 and submitted
applications for GRAS determination to the Expert Panel of the Flavor and
Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) in December 2004. In March 2005, we received notification
from FEMA that S807 and S336 have been determined to be GRAS. In addition, two other flavor enhancers, S263
and S976, which are related to S336, were also determined by FEMA to be
GRAS. A more detailed description of the
FEMA GRAS process is provided in Item I, Business – Our Discovery
and Development Process.
Sweet Enhancer Program
Using
SweetScreenHT, our high-throughput sweet receptor-based assay system, we
identified S1395 and S888, proof-of-concept compounds that enhance the sweet
taste of sugar. We believe that the enhancers we are developing in our sweet
enhancer program will enhance the sweet taste of natural and artificial
sweeteners used in a variety of packaged food and beverage products and may
provide for a significant reduction in added sweetener in the finished product
while maintaining or improving the desired sweet taste.
During
2004, we identified a number of novel sweet enhancers using our optimization
chemistry process. One compound, known
as S679, demonstrated enhanced potency in the receptor assay and in preliminary
taste tests over previous lead compounds S1395 and S888. We have found that S679 enhances the sweet
taste of fructose by approximately 1.6-fold (a 40% reduction) at a
concentration of 3 ppm in a product prototype.
S679 is undergoing further testing in product prototypes by our
collaborator.
Guided
by our taste receptor-based assays, we are continuing our chemistry optimization
efforts on S679 and several additional classes of compounds in order to
identify potential sweet enhancers that function at lower concentrations in
product prototypes. These efforts have
recently resulted in a number of new sweet enhancer compounds, including S763
and S299, which have demonstrated two-fold increased potency in our in vitro
sweet receptor-based assay compared to S679.
These compounds are being scaled up for taste tests in product
prototypes. As we make additional
progress in identifying potential product candidates, we will continue to
provide these enhancers to our collaborators for extensive testing in product
prototypes.
Salt Enhancer Program
Using
SaltScreenHT, our high-throughput salt receptor-based assay, we have identified
hundreds of compounds that enhance the activity of a taste receptor believed to
be involved in the taste of salt. The goal of our salt enhancer program is to
identify compounds that enhance the taste of salt and p