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Aqua
Bounty, Recalcine Farmaceutica in Drug Development Deal
Aquaculture
health and productivity leaders bridge Americas with strategic
alliance
June 24, 2004
WALTHAM, MA
– A leading North American developer of aquatic biotechnology
products and the largest privately-held pharmaceutical company
in South America will cooperate in the discovery, development
and commercialization of new veterinary vaccines, antimicrobial
agents and diagnostic products targeting shrimp and salmon diseases
characteristic of the southern hemisphere.
In a wide-ranging
agreement that leverages the companies’ complementary strengths,
U.S.-Canadian-based Aqua Bounty Technologies (ABT) and Recalcine
Farmaceutica (CFR) of Santiago, Chile will develop, manufacture
and market a range of aquatic veterinary products targeted to
infective species and strains specific to South America. The companies
also agreed to create several regional diagnostic centers in shrimp
and salmon farming areas to bring powerful new quantitative PCR
and molecular probe techniques to the South American market.
“South
America has embraced the Blue Revolution,” said Alejandro
Weinstein, the chief executive officer of CFR. “As aquaculture
producers increase their volume, acquire new species and expand
into new locations, effective biosecurity and best health management
practices will be essential for long term stability in the industry.
The strategic alliance between Recalcine and Aqua Bounty will
provide farmers with the tools they need through the entire production
process to detect, prevent and ultimately to cure the diseases
that threaten sustainable production.”
Under the
agreement, ABT will develop or improve vaccines for up to five
significant salmon pathogens, an antifungal treatment for salmon
eggs, fry and smolt, and diagnostic kits capable of detecting
a single strand of pathogenic DNA in salmon. The company will
also introduce its comparable shrimp diagnostic kits, currently
available in Asia, to the South American market, and will expand
the availability of its shrimp immunostimulant feed additive from
Mexico to South America. CFR will finance the development costs,
contribute milestone payments to fund field trials and market
the full suite of shrimp and salmon health products through its
established sales network.
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