Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., a privately-held company applying advances in synthetic biology to produce high-value pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals and biofuels, has raised $20 million in a first round of venture funding. Additionally, the firm also announced the appointment of John G. Melo, previously president of U.S. Fuels Operations for bp plc., as CEO.

"...These new resources will enable the company to expand its capabilities to address major global health and energy challenges, thereby helping to fulfill the promise of synthetic biology, ... In addition to its ongoing focus on creating a low-cost malaria drug, Amyris will add a new program aimed at renewably producing second-generation, high-performance biofuels with increased cost-effectiveness."

Amyris has a collaborative project with the University of California, Berkeley, and the Institute for One World Health (iOWH) to develop a cost-effective malaria treatment.

Read more from Amyris' press release.