BioAmber has filed for bankruptcy protection.
The Montreal-based company opened its first commercial-scale plant in Sarnia in 2015, receiving $52-million in provincial and federal funding for the $140-million facility that uses corn syrup to make succinic acid, a building block in everything from plastics to cosmetics.
In a news release, the company says asking for a stay of proceedings from its creditors will allow the company time to restructure its finances.
BioAmber, which employs about 60 people in Sarnia, says if it fails to achieve its financing and restructuring goals, it will likely result "in the company and or its subsidiaries being forced to cease operations and liquidate its assets."