Acatris and ADM Team Up in Soy

26/07/05 Acatris, supplier of the soy germ based isoflavone ingredient Soylife has reached a licensing agreement with Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) on the sale and marketing of soy germ isoflavones. As a result, Acatris and its customers have gained access to ADM’s intellectual property portfolio covering production processes and labeling statements for soy isoflavones. This agreement gives Acatris and its customers access to soy germ isoflavone patent rights required to market and sell supplements carrying certain women’s health claims. Acatris has said that it will work with customers to sublicense the patents on soy germ isoflavone use and health claims.

Earlier this year, ADM increased its soy isoflavone portfolio of intellectual property and began discussions with Acatris regarding a possible licensing agreement. “This partnership with ADM further illustrates Acatris’ continued leadership and investment in the future and growth of soy germ isoflavones,” said Dr. Bert Piëst, CEO of Royal Schouten Group and Acatris. “Acatris, through its brand SoyLife, is now an authorised supplier of soy germ based isoflavone supplementation ingredients.”

SoyLife is a range of ingredients from soy germ, rich in isoflavones. More than just an isoflavone concentrate, SoyLife offers the complete spectrum of natural soy compounds, the Soy Matrix, which enhances the bio-availability of isoflavones. This makes SoyLife the most concentrated way of adding the natural profile of soy-bioactives to food. SoyLife is used worldwide in dietary supplements, food, feed, beverages and cosmetics.

“In coming to this agreement, we discovered that Acatris and ADM had synergy in many aspects of our businesses. Some of ADM’s and Acatris intellectual properties also include rights pertaining to use of flax lignans,” said Laurent Leduc, President, North America Health Division, Acatris. “With the potential for crossover health benefits, Acatris is working on further collaboration with ADM on intellectual properties that will allow us to continue our leadership role in flax lignan supplementation through LinumLife  EXTRA, the first standardized 20 percent lignan extract.”