Danisco reports strong results for Venture company Profos

23/08/05 Danisco has reported that German based Profos AG has raised EUR 5 million in the first closing of its current financing round with investments from Bio Fund Management Ltd. (Helsinki, Finland), Capital Stage AG (Hamburg, Germany) and Danisco Venture A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark).

Profos AG is a leading German biotech company engaged in the development of products for the capture and detection of bacteria and bacterial components (endotoxins) based on advanced, proprietary phage-ligand technology. The Profos leading-edge technology has two main areas of immediate application for which product ranges are being rolled-out: Food Safety (Pathogen) Testing and Biopharmaceutical Endotoxin Detection and Removal. In addition, the Company’s patented technology offers future opportunities in certain clinical therapeutic processes and food preservation.

Danisco Venture initially invested in Profos in August 2003 and has played a very active role in the development of the company. “Profos has developed very positively since our initial investment two years ago. The company has made significant technological progress and we're starting to see promising commercial interest in the company's technologies and products. We continue to have strong confidence in the company and are therefore convinced that this will be a good investment. We're also very pleased to see that new investors have found the activities of the company interesting and have committed funds to the company,” says Lars Dybkjær, head of Danisco Venture.

Profos has developed a technology platform applicable to, for instance, food safety. This includes: food preservation products that prolong the shelf life of food products, food diagnostic products used for testing foods for unwanted bacteria such as Salmonella and Listeria with the objective of reducing the risk of food contamination.

“As Danisco is heavily engaged in the area of food safety, Profos fits well with the overall Danisco strategy. We look forward to working with the Profos team to further develop the company,” says Lars Dybkjær.

The proceeds will be used to develop and commercialise the company's products and technologies and expand the organisation.