Novozymes acquires Delta Biotechnology Ltd

13/06/06 Novozymes has signed an agreement to acquire Delta Biotechnology Ltd from the sanofi-aventis group. The acquisition is subject to the usual official approvals and is expected to be finalised in the next one to three months.

Nottingham, UK-based Delta Biotechnology is a small technology-driven company involved in the research, development, production and sale of microbially produced recombinant proteins. Delta Biotechnology Ltd has 106 employees and a strong position in the market segment of recombinant human albumin, an ingredient used in the biopharmaceutical industry as replacement for human serum albumin.

The company's sales, which are primarily contract-based, amounted to around DKK 100 million in 2005 and have mainly been based on annual sales of Recombumin® for the formulation of biopharmaceutical products. The company also has in its pipeline projects for other quality grades of recombinant albumin and recombinant transferrin, which may be used as ingredients for cell culture media in the future. In addition Delta Biotechnology has developed a platform for producing recombinant proteins based on the Albufusion technology.

Novozymes said it is taking over Delta Biotechnology Ltd as part of its strategy of acquiring businesses which can strengthen its position and which use the same technology base as Novozymes. The acquisition will underpin the creation of a platform in ingredients for the biopharmaceutical industry. Novozymes already produces and develops ingredients for the biopharmaceutical industry.

Novozymes' CEO Steen Riisgaard had the following comments on the transaction: "Delta Biotechnology Ltd is a good match for our existing projects in ingredients for the biopharmaceutical industry. The acquisition will bring us significant know-how and technology, and it is also an existing business which can support our continued expansion in this area."

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The acquisition is expected to have a marginal positive impact on sales in 2006. Due to non-recurring costs in connection with the acquisition, the net impact on operating profit in 2006 is expected to be slightly negative.