Marine Ingredients on Croda's Horizon

OBAN, Scottland--Aquapharm Biodiscovery Ltd., a marine biotechnology company,  and Croda International have signed three-year  collaboration and license agreement, which will provide Croda with an exclusive license to novel marine derived natural products identified through the collaboration from strains from Aquapharm’s proprietary microbial library for use in topical cosmetic applications in skin and hair care. 

Under the agreement, Aquapharm will use its proprietary assays to screen its library of marine microbes for the discovery and generation of novel cosmetic ingredients for skin and hair care applications. In return, Aquapharm will receive funding from Croda to conduct this research along with milestone payments and royalties on commercialisation of any resulting products. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Dr. Andrew Mearns Spragg, CEO, Aquapharm said: “We are very pleased to have entered into this collaboration with Croda, a leading player in the supply of specialty chemicals into the personal care market. This collaboration further demonstrates our leading position in developing new products from marine organisms and the breath of applications of our library. We look forward to working together with Croda to identify novel and natural cosmetic ingredients from our marine library.”

Dr Keith Layden, President, Croda Enterprise Technology added: “The collaboration with Aquapharm is a key part of our strategy in developing novel, sustainable solutions for the personal care industry. We are delighted to be working with the team at Aquapharm and anticipate the relationship will generate significant value for both companies.”