ARGYLL, Scotland—Aquapharm Biodiscovery Ltd., a marine biotechnology company; and Croda, a global specialty company for personal care chemicals, renewed its 2008 three-year R&D agreement with Croda’s cosmetics subsidiary, Sederma, to advance a shortlist of naturally sourced candidates identified during the collaboration towards the market.
Professor Simon Best, CEO of Aquapharm, said: "I'm delighted Sederma and Aquapharm will continue to build on the foundations established through our successful collaboration with Croda; it confirms the rich potential of our marine microbe collection as a source of next generation cosmetic ingredients for skincare application. We are now on course to see the first of our products launched to market as early as 2013."
Keith Layden, president, Croda Enterprise Technology, added: "Our collaboration thus far has led to many exciting new developments which promise to deliver novel and sustainable solutions for the personal care industry. We are excited to now be able to bring all of that research to bear through our subsidiary, Sederma, which is dedicated to the development of active ingredients for the cosmetics industry. Together with Aquapharm, we are truly excited by the potential that this partnership holds, both in bringing fresh innovation to the market and in generating significant new revenue streams for both companies."
In 2010, Aquapharm secured £4.2 million of funding from existing investors Aescap Venture, Tate & Lyle Ventures, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and NESTA. Aquapharm expects to conclude further collaborations with personal care, nutrition and beverage partners in the near future.