NOTTINGHAM, U.K.—Looking to expand its enzyme operations, Novozymes acquired Delta Biotechnology from the sanofi-aventis group. The new company, Novozymes Delta, will continue to operate as a self-contained business unit, developing and manufacturing recombinant proteins using engineered proprietary yeast strains.

 

"Novozymes will set the direction and has the resources that will enable us to further progress our yeast-based protein expression capabilities to the benefit of our global customer base," said Dermot Pearson, commercial operations director of Novozymes Delta. "The market for safe, animal-free recombinant proteins is growing and, with Novozymes backing us, we'll be in a great position to satisfy this market".

 

Novozymes Delta will also license its technology to pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology partner companies as customized solutions, offering it a strong position in the industrial enzymes market. According to a July 2005 report by Freedonia Group, this market hit $3.7 billion and was expected to grow at 6.5 percent a year to 2009.