Maxygen (2)

Maxygen is a privately-held biotech CRO that provides directed evolution and molecular biology services to partners across various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, industrial enzymes, and agriculture. Its core technology, molecular breeding, recombines phylogenetic diversity to generate superior protein libraries, supported by computational design for scalability. Re-established in 2017 by former scientists and investors of the original 1997 Maxygen, the company offers a collaborative, custom project model with no retained ownership, positioning itself as a strategic outsourcing partner for protein optimization.

Directed evolution platform utilizing Molecular Breeding (recombination of phylogenetic diversity) and EvoGenerative™ computational methods for designing high-function protein variant libraries.

Maxygen competes with other protein engineering and directed evolution service providers, ranging from large CROs (e.g., Thermo Fisher's Patheon, Lonza) to specialized biotech firms (e.g., Arzeda, Codexis's service arm, smaller startups). Its key differentiator is the specific focus on recombining natural phylogenetic diversity via molecular breeding, as opposed to purely random or rational design methods. It also competes with clients' internal R&D capabilities.