Last week's announcement follows a previous agreement the two companies signed earlier this year in order to tap new markets and consolidate established relationships.
"We are extremely pleased to establish our second collaboration with Ajinomoto. We believe this natural ingredient initiative provides additional value to Senomyx by opening new market opportunities to reach consumers preferring all natural ingredients," said Kent Snyder, president and chief executive officer of Senomyx.
During the three-year collaborative period, the company said it will work with Ajinomoto on the "discovery and development of specific natural flavor ingredients". However, the company was unable to provide FoodNavigator-USA.com with additional information.
In a statement, Senomyx said the new agreement covers exclusive worldwide commercialization of these specified new flavors in all product categories. Ajinomoto has agreed to pay Senomyx research funding and specified payments upon the achievement of milestones.
Upon commercialization, Senomyx will be entitled to payments based on sales of Ajinomoto products containing any flavor ingredients discovered under the agreement.
Earlier this year, Senomyx had said that in its three-year collaborative period with Ajinomoto, the companies would work on the discovery and development of novel flavor ingredients on an exclusive basis in the soup, sauce and culinary aids, and noodle product categories and on a co-exclusive basis in the bouillon product category within Japan and other Asian markets, including China and additional key countries.
"Senomyx's strategy is to leverage our discovery and development capabilities by establishing collaborations with market leaders seeking to create a competitive advantage for their products," said Snyder.
"It is especially rewarding to us when existing collaborators extend their partnerships with the company. We are privileged to strengthen our relationship with Ajinomoto by entering into a second collaboration for natural flavor ingredients," he added.
Senomyx now has nine product discovery and development collaborations with six leading global food and beverage companies: Ajinomoto, Cadbury Schweppes, Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, and Nestlé.
In March, Senomyx announced an amendment to its agreement with European food giant Nestlé. The agreement, which includes the discovery and commercialization of novel flavors and flavor enhancers, was amended to allow Senomyx to reacquire rights to certain of its flavor ingredients in certain geographic regions.
As a result of the amendment, Nestlé now has rights to flavor ingredients in Europe, Asia, Israel, Oceania, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America in specified product categories, while Senomyx has certain rights in North America and specified product categories in other geographic regions.