DSM and Almac sign collaboration agreement in biocatalysis

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DSM Pharmaceutical Products, the custom manufacturing and technology business of Royal DSM (NYSE, Euronext: DSM KON), announced today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with the Almac Group Ltd. (UK) in the field of biocatalysis to provide sustainable manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical industry.

The agreement grants both parties access to their enzyme platform technologies, services and expertise for the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Almac's expertise in rapid enzyme identification, scale-up and implementation into early phase projects complements DSM's experience and track record of over 30 commercial manufacturing bioprocesses run on a multi-ton scale. This will give customers of either party access to enzyme expertise and assets resulting in cost-effective, green processing at all phases of development from preclinical to commercial manufacturing scale. This collaboration will also enable Almac to offer its customers a preferred partner for large-scale production.

Alexander Wessels, CEO of DSM Pharmaceutical Products, stated, "Working with the Almac Group marks further advancement of DSM's stated strategy towards strategic partnerships to excel in providing new customer solutions. DSM is a global leader in applied biocatalysis, providing high quality custom manufacturing and development services to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. Via this agreement, we maintain our commitment to the future of pharma manufacturing, adding to our green chemistry toolbox, which also includes complex chemical solutions and more efficient manufacturing with micro reactors, where DSM is unique in its pilot to commercial scale up offering."

Dr. Tom Moody, Head of Almac Biocatalysis, stated, "This collaboration has come at the right time as more and more customers need scalable green technologies to access difficult-to-make chiral chemicals.  Having access to the right enzymes today will drive 'hit to process'. The introduction of enzymes into processes earlier in the drug discovery pipeline will therefore help to drive cost down as the projects move forward." Dr. Stephen Barr, Managing Director of Almac's Sciences business unit, added, "The synergies between Almac and DSM are not superseded today by any other collaboration in this area.  Our customers will see real rewards from the fact that any bioprocess developed can go from conception to manufacture quickly within this agreement."

Daniel Mink PhD, Corporate Scientist Biocatalysis and (Bio)-Organic Chemistry at DSM comments:
"One important success factor for implementing enzymatic routes is access to a diverse range of biocatalysts. DSM is continuously expanding its unique enzyme collection of more than 3,000 enzymes through in-house development as well as innovative partnering models. The collaboration with Almac completes the latest phase in this process. Together we will be able to offer a complete package serving the pharmaceutical industry at all stages of development from preclinical to commercial scale -- bringing biocatalysis to the next level."

About the Almac Group
The Almac Group provides a broad range of services from R&D, biomarker discovery and development, API manufacture, formulation development, clinical trial supply and IXRS^® technology (IVRS/IWRS), to commercial-scale manufacture. Almac provides services to more than 600 companies, including all the world leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.  The company employs over 3,300 individuals and is headquartered in Craigavon, Northern Ireland.  US operations are based in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and California. For more information about the Almac Group, please visit www.almacgroup.com or e-mail [email protected]

DSM – Bright Science. Brighter Living.™
Koninklijke DSM NV is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. By connecting its unique competences in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences DSM is driving economic prosperity, environmental progress and social advances to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM's 22,000 employees deliver annual net sales of about € 9 billion. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext. More information can be found at www.dsm.com/pharma and www.dsm.com

Forward-looking statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to DSM's future (financial) performance and position. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections of DSM and information currently available to the company. DSM cautions readers that such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and therefore it should be understood that many factors can cause actual performance and position to differ materially from these statements. DSM has no obligation to update the statements contained in this press release, unless required by law. The English language version of the press release is leading.

SOURCE DSM