BASF Signs a License Agreement with Metabolix to Produce & Market PLA Blends under Ecovio®
BASF Corporation has announced that it has received a license from Metabolix under U.S. Patent No. 5,883,199, titled "Polylactic Acid-Based Blends," to produce and market PLA and PBAT compounds under the BASF trade name Ecovio®. Ecovio biodegradable polymer is a blend of Ecoflex® biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic copolyester and polylactic acid on the basis of corn. The University of Massachusetts is the owner of the '199 patent, and Metabolix, Inc. is its exclusive licensee in the relevant field. U.S. Patent 5,883,199 is directed at PLA: polyester blends in the ratio 9:1 to 1:9 wherein the polyester forms a continuous or co-continuous phase in the blend. Metabolix, Inc. is a leader in the use of bioscience to provide biobased, sustainable, solutions for the world's needs for plastics, fuels and chemicals. Ecovio can be used to extrude biodegradable films without any further admixtures or preparation and is used to create tailor-made blends to me