Novozymes acquired Delta Biotechnology, Ltd. from the Sanofi-Aventis Group as part of its strategy to extend its portfolio of products that are used as key ingredients in biopharmaceutical products. Delta, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Novozymes, operates as a self-contained business unit with both its R&D and manufacturing facilities based in Nottingham, UK. The new company will operate under the name Novozymes Delta Ltd.

Novozymes Delta develops and manufactures recombinant protein products using highly engineered proprietary Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains. The company also licenses its yeast based expression system to pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotech partners. Recombumin, the company’s lead product, is the first and only animal-free, commercially available recombinant human albumin. It is used in the manufacture of human therapeutics approved by both the FDA and the EMEA.

Novozymes’ chief executive officer, Steen Riisgaard said, “Delta Biotechnology is a good match for our existing projects in ingredients for the biopharma industry. The acquisition will bring us significant know-how and technology, and will support our continued expansion in this area.”

Dermot Pearson, commercial operations director of Novozymes Delta said, “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. 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.”