From 1993 till 1998 he headed the fermentation and process development group at Metabolix Inc., a small startup company in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In addition to this work, Gerngross’ lab also developed a novel protein expression system based on the industrial fermentation organisms Ralstonia eutropha, formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus.
[6][7] The work on Ralstonia eutropha was later expanded in collaboration with Prof. Wood at Princeton University to combine recombinant expression of proteins with the ability to purify them in vivo.
By using life cycle assessment tools he demonstrated the shortcomings of bioplastics and similar biomass based technologies intended as a substitute for the petrochemical processes used today.
[11] Much of this work was conducted at Glycofi, Inc., a Lebanon, New Hampshire biotechnology startup company that was acquired in 2006 by Merck in a record-setting $400 million transaction.
In 2000 Gerngross co-founded Glycofi, Inc.[25] and served as the company's Chief Scientific Officer until its acquisition by Merck & Co. in the spring of 2006.
In the fall of 2006 Dr. Gerngross joined SV Life Sciences as a venture partner[26] where he advises on investments in the bio-therapeutics area.
[1] with Prof. Dane Wittrup[27] at MIT[28] and Errik Anderson[29] to develop a novel platform for the discovery of human antibodies in yeast.