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Senomyx

Logo: The logo is from the following website: http://www.senomyx.com/ http://www.wellnessuncovered.com/joomla/images/stories/senomyx.gif, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia⁵

American biotechnology company

Senomyx is an American biotechnology company that develops food additives. The company claims to have "reverse engineered" human taste and aroma receptors. It was founded by Lubert Stryer and Paul Nevsky in 1998.³ Its shares trade on NASDAQ under the symbol SNMX.¹ Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

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Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1999Founded¹

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TickerSNMX on NASDAQ¹
Industrybiotechnology¹
HeadquartersSan Diego¹
Legal formpublic company¹
Incorporated inDE⁶
Business address4767 Nexus Centre Drive, San Diego, Ca 92121⁶
Filer categoryNon-accelerated filer⁶
LEI529900MN7CFUXZCBNY05⁴
StatusActive⁴
LEI statusLapsed (not renewed)⁴
Registered addressc/o National Registered Agents, Inc., 160 Greentree DR STE 101, 19904 Dover, United States⁴
Registered withDivision of Corporations, Department of State, 2944462⁴

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Senomyx is an American biotechnology company that develops food additives. The company claims to have "reverse engineered" human taste and aroma receptors. It was founded by Lubert Stryer and Paul Nevsky in 1998. On September 17, 2018, private Swiss company Firmenich completed the acquisition of Senomyx.³

What it owns

What Senomyx reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Property and equipment

Item	Latest	A year before	Change
Property and equipment, before depreciation	$29.3M⁸ Dec 31, 2017	$29.0M⁸ Dec 31, 2016	+1.1%
Accumulated depreciation	$26.7M⁸ Dec 31, 2017	$26.2M⁸ Dec 31, 2016	+1.8%
Property and equipment, net	$2.6M⁸ Dec 31, 2017	$2.7M⁸ Dec 31, 2016	−6.2%

Investments

Item	Latest	A year before	Change
Cash and cash equivalents	$6.2M⁸ Dec 31, 2017	$3.6M⁸ Dec 31, 2016	+73.8%

Inventory

Item	Latest	A year before	Change
Inventory, total	$1.6M⁸ Dec 31, 2017	$2.3M⁸ Dec 31, 2016	−32.4%

The story

Founded by Lubert Stryer in 1999.¹

Biochemist Lubert Stryer founded Senomyx in 1998. In May 2001, Stryer returned to his professorship at Stanford University and resigned from Senomyx, but continued to be the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board.

Around the year 2001, Senomyx patented several flavor enhancers by using "proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems", which have been previously expressed in human cell culture, in HEK293 cells. HEK293 cells are a cell line widely used in biological and medical research, immortalized through a genetic modification removed from the original embryonic kidney cells in the early 1970s.

The company's stock declined after PepsiCo reversed a trial rollout of Senomyx ingredients in their sodas in 2016.

From Wikipedia’s article on Senomyx, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.⁷

Leadership

Who has led Senomyx, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Chief executive

John Poyhonen2014–2018

President

John Poyhonen2011–2018

Chief financial officer

Chief operating officer

John Poyhonen2009–2011

200020052010201520202025

FounderLubert Stryer¹
Chief executive officerJohn Poyhonen Jan 17, 2014 to Nov 2, 2018⁹
PresidentJohn Poyhonen Mar 1, 2011 to Nov 2, 2018¹⁰
Chief financial officerAntony E. Rogers Sep 30, 2009 to Mar 17, 2017¹¹
Chief financial officerJohn Poyhonen Mar 2, 2006 to Feb 18, 2009¹²
Chief operating officerJohn Poyhonen Oct 15, 2009 to Mar 1, 2011¹³

Board members and other officers (20)

VP, GC and Corp. SecretaryCatherine Chai-Zon Lee Mar 27, 2015 to Nov 2, 2018¹⁴
Sr. V.P., DiscoveryDonald Karanewsky Sep 30, 2009 to Mar 17, 2015¹⁵
VP, Gen. Counsel & Corp. Sec.David B. Berger Jan 15, 2008 to Apr 17, 2013¹⁶
CSO and SVP ResearchMark Zoller Jan 4, 2006 to Feb 18, 2009¹⁷
VP Chf Fin. Off. & Bus Off.John Poyhonen Jan 18, 2006 to Apr 17, 2013¹⁸
SVP, Gen Counsel & Corp SecHarry J. Leonhardt Feb 3, 2006 to Sep 4, 2007¹⁹
VP DiscoveryNigel R. A. Beeley Feb 3, 2006 to Mar 7, 2006²⁰
Sr VP, Com Dvlp, Chf Strgy OffSharon Wicker May 2, 2006 to Nov 2, 2018²¹
Board memberE. Thomas Erdmann Iii. Mar 22, 2018 to Nov 2, 2018²²
Board memberDaniel Edward Stebbins Sep 14, 2015 to Nov 2, 2018²³
Board memberJohn Poyhonen Jan 17, 2014 to Nov 2, 2018⁹
Board memberMary Ann Gray Sep 28, 2010 to Nov 2, 2018²⁴
Board memberRoger D. Billingsley Apr 3, 2008 to May 22, 2015²⁵
Board memberMark Leschly Jan 30, 2006 to Jun 4, 2007²⁶
Board memberChristopher J. Twomey Mar 16, 2006 to Nov 2, 2018²⁷
Board memberDennis F. Obrien Apr 20, 2006 to Feb 17, 2009²⁸
Board memberJay Short May 25, 2006 to May 24, 2016²⁹
Board memberMichael E. Herman May 25, 2006 to May 22, 2017³⁰
Board memberStephen A. Block May 25, 2006 to Nov 2, 2018³¹
General counselDavid B. Berger Feb 18, 2009 to Jul 8, 2011³²

Products and brands

Senomyx's products work by amplifying the intensity of flavors. This is done by expressing taste receptors and measuring receptor signaling in response to additives. Because very small amounts of the additive are used (reportedly less than one part per million), Senomyx has no obligation to report their ingredients to the consumer. Senomyx products fall under the broad category of "artificial flavors". For the same reason, the company's chemicals have not undergone the FDA safety approval.

Senomyx's MSG-enhancer gained the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status from the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, an industry-funded organization. It received a positive review by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, which determined that there were no safety concerns with the use of the Company's savory flavor ingredients in foods. The positive assessment by JECFA is expected to expedite regulatory approvals in a number of countries, particularly those that do not have independent regulatory approval systems.

Based on the company's use of HEK293 cell lines, in 2011 the pro-life organization Children of God for Life issued an action alert calling for a boycott of companies that partnered with Senomyx. This led to a 2012 bill in the Oklahoma legislature, proposed by Ralph Shortey, that would have prohibited the "manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses".