BASF buys Equateq to tap into growing health ingredient business
pharmafile | May 11, 2012 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | BASF, Equateq, Phil Taylor, omega-3
BASF has said it intends to buy Equateq, a UK-based specialist in lipid ingredients that represent a ‘global growing market’, according to the German chemical giant.
Equateq manufactures omega-3 fatty acid ingredients with applications in pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements at a facility on Lewis off the west coast of Scotland. The plant was originally set up in the early 1990s by Scotia Pharmaceuticals’ Efamol unit, which sells a range of omega-3-based supplement products.
Around 47 people are employed at the Breasclete production plant on Lewis, and Scotland’s Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) body welcomed BASF’s decision to acquire Equateq, noting the deal had ‘secured’ those jobs and could lead to the creation of up to 20 more.
BASF said that the acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year and once complete will extend its portfolio of omega-3 products “with a new offering of highly concentrated omega-3 fatty acids”.
The chemical firm was attracted by Equateq’s technology platform, which relies on the use of proprietary chromatographic separation techniques to develop formulations with customised levels of highly-pure fatty acid ingredients such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
“This is unique in the marketplace,” said Martin Widmann, senior vice president for Pharma Ingredients & Services (PI&S) at BASF.
Equateq will be rolled into BASF’s PI&S unit, which is part of the company’s Nutrition & Health division. The integration is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. The companies said they have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.
BASF’s move ties in with a rising awareness around the world of the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which have also started to appear in pharmaceutical products, notably Pronova BioPharma’s Omacor/Lovaza for the treatment of elevated levels of triglycerides in humans.
“Increasing consumer awareness of the health benefits of omega-3 is fuelling double-digit growth for omega-3 products in the years to come,” said BASF.
At the end of 2011 the company also forged an agreement with food ingredient company Cargill to co-develop a canola oil containing EPA/DHA for use in foods, dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals.
Phil Taylor
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