Source: Aquapharm Bio-Discovery Ltd Enters a Collaboration Deal with Dowpharma<sup>SM</sup> Contract Manufacturing Services.

Source: Aquapharm Bio-Discovery Ltd Enters a Collaboration Deal with Dowpharma^SM Contract Manufacturing Services.

Oban, Scotland - June 13, 2006

Aquapharm Bio – Discovery Ltd. (Aquapharm), a leading UK marine biotechnology company developing, amongst other things, nutraceutical and anti-infective drug candidates from marine natural products, has entered a collaboration with DowpharmaSM contract manufacturing services, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, which will allow it to explore Aquapharm’s library of novel marine micro organisms for new bio-catalysts for pharmaceutical applications. Dow is paying Aquapharm for the preparation of hundreds of sample extracts from the organisms for Dow to examine. In the event Dow desires to commercialize, the parties will enter into a license under which Aquapharm expects to receive a royalty.

Aquapharm Bio - Discovery Ltd. was founded in 2000 in Scotland by Dr. Andrew Mearns Spragg and Dr. Kathryn Fraser two Ph.D. graduates of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. It is one of the UK’s premier marine biotechnology companies and is leading the way in the discovery of novel bioactives & novel production systems utilising microbes found in the marine environment.

The company has a substantial collection of unique marine bacteria & fungi obtained from samples collected from diverse and extreme marine habitats, including the arctic and the deep sea, and it uses these to develop new biologically active natural products for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and industrial applications. Aquapharm’s patented technology base has the ability to manipulate marine microbial communities to stimulate the development and production of new molecules of pharmaceutical potential.

Due to culturing limitations, only about 1% of all existing microorganisms have been accessible to scientists for evaluation and nearly all of these have been derived from terrestrial soil samples. We know even less about the microbes of the sea, however, Aquapharm’s research into culturing new types of marine microbes has shown a wide variety of new species of pharmaceutical and industrial potential. Nevertheless, this 1% is responsible for tens of billions of dollars in annual pharmaceutical sales and the protection of humans and other animals from serious diseases. The natural world is therefore a proven source of commercially useful drugs. Aquapharm considers its library to be an important & valuable resource, and the key to the company’s future success. The diversity of marine microbes within Aquapharm’s library has already provided an exciting opportunity for new compound discovery into the core product areas it is exploiting in-house:-

Anti-Infectives: - new antibiotic & anti-fungal development
Carotenoid pigments – novel high yield fermentation
New enzymes – bio-transformations
Functional Molecules – a valuable source of new bio-active compounds

In addition, Aquapharm recognises the value of the library to third parties to search for compounds useful to their own R&D programs and therefore enters collaborations such as that with Dowpharma.

Dr. Andrew Mearns Spragg, the CEO of Aquapharm said “This deal represents a major step forward for the commercial development of Aquapharm Bio - Discovery Ltd. Working with Dowpharma to look for new enzyme activities from marine microbes justifies the Company’s approach collaborating in the exploitation of natural products from marine microbes. There are just too many potential new products and processes derivable from the wealth of marine micro-organisms for Aquapharm to be able to exploit them all itself.”

"We are delighted to be entering into this collaboration with Aquapharm," said Dr. Mark Cassidy, Director, Small Molecules for Dowpharma. "Dowpharma contract manufacturing services has a more than 15 year track record of successfully using biocatalysis for the preparation of small molecule intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry". Dowpharma has experience in applying lipases, esterases, acylases, nitrilases, amidases and alcohol dehydogenases, Cassidy noted. "We are committed to extending our biocatalysis capabilities by discovering new enzymes. Access to the marine micro-organisms from Aquapharm will increase the diversity of our existing collection of wild type organisms, allowing us to discover and commercially develop differentiated solutions for the preparation of our customers’ targets," added Cassidy.

Notes for Editors:

1. What does Aquapharm do?

Collects samples of bacteria from the marine environment to build a microbial library and a natural products library. This is valuable because the library could contain previously unknown compounds that may provide cures for diseases or answers to manufacturing problems. Using this library, Aquapharm actively looks for
- new antibiotics active against multi drug resistant organisms, such as MRSA & VRSA
- natural organic pigments, such as that which makes salmon pink, for use in the human and animal feed industry.
- functional food active ingredients (foods with health giving benefits, i.e. anti-oxidants) An example of a marketed functional food is a poly-unsaturated fatty acids included in a yogurt & margarine that reduce cholesterol.
Sells access to the microbial library to other companies that wish to search it for products, outside Aquapharm’s research areas, that are of interest to them.

Why is Aquapharm unique?

The Company was founded by and employs the first graduates in marine biotechnology who specialised in marine derived anti-infectives, in the UK.
The marine microbial world remains largely undiscovered (less than 5% of what it contains has been characterised), which increases the Company’s chance of finding previously undiscovered useful compounds and new biochemical processes that could be beneficial in industrial manufacturing processes.
The Company, therefore has a means to find new classes of pharmaceuticals (new drugs to fight disease) and to find industrial products (pigments, antioxidants, etc.) that can be produced organically (bio-fermentaion) i.e. without the need to use petrochemicals.
It undertakes discovery in an environmentally sustainable manner. Most marine discovery companies look at larger species such as corals and sponges and collect these. Aquapharm, however, collects small samples seawater containing microscopic bacteria and fungi, which has no adverse environmental impact.

For Editorial Information:

Dr Andrew Mearns Spragg
Aquapharm Bio - Discovery Ltd
Oban, Argyll, PA37 1QA
01631 559 390
andrew@aquapharm.co.uk


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Dowpharma Relaunches Web Site, Will Make Donation to UNICEF Dow Expands Presence in Pharmaceutical Market, Uniting Existing Offers Under Dowpharma Portfolio Dowpharma Announces New Capabilities in Asymmetric Hydroformylation for Pharmaceutical Applications License of JST Catalyst Technology Expands Dowpharma’s Chiral Commercial Production Capabilities Dowpharma Signs Agreement with Japanese Distributor to Market Pharmaceutical Services in Japan Events Calendar Contact Us	Source: Aquapharm Bio-Discovery Ltd Enters a Collaboration Deal with Dowpharma^SM Contract Manufacturing Services. Oban, Scotland - June 13, 2006 Aquapharm Bio – Discovery Ltd. (Aquapharm), a leading UK marine biotechnology company developing, amongst other things, nutraceutical and anti-infective drug candidates from marine natural products, has entered a collaboration with DowpharmaSM contract manufacturing services, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, which will allow it to explore Aquapharm’s library of novel marine micro organisms for new bio-catalysts for pharmaceutical applications. Dow is paying Aquapharm for the preparation of hundreds of sample extracts from the organisms for Dow to examine. In the event Dow desires to commercialize, the parties will enter into a license under which Aquapharm expects to receive a royalty. Aquapharm Bio - Discovery Ltd. was founded in 2000 in Scotland by Dr. Andrew Mearns Spragg and Dr. Kathryn Fraser two Ph.D. graduates of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. It is one of the UK’s premier marine biotechnology companies and is leading the way in the discovery of novel bioactives & novel production systems utilising microbes found in the marine environment. The company has a substantial collection of unique marine bacteria & fungi obtained from samples collected from diverse and extreme marine habitats, including the arctic and the deep sea, and it uses these to develop new biologically active natural products for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and industrial applications. Aquapharm’s patented technology base has the ability to manipulate marine microbial communities to stimulate the development and production of new molecules of pharmaceutical potential. Due to culturing limitations, only about 1% of all existing microorganisms have been accessible to scientists for evaluation and nearly all of these have been derived from terrestrial soil samples. We know even less about the microbes of the sea, however, Aquapharm’s research into culturing new types of marine microbes has shown a wide variety of new species of pharmaceutical and industrial potential. Nevertheless, this 1% is responsible for tens of billions of dollars in annual pharmaceutical sales and the protection of humans and other animals from serious diseases. The natural world is therefore a proven source of commercially useful drugs. Aquapharm considers its library to be an important & valuable resource, and the key to the company’s future success. The diversity of marine microbes within Aquapharm’s library has already provided an exciting opportunity for new compound discovery into the core product areas it is exploiting in-house:- Anti-Infectives: - new antibiotic & anti-fungal development Carotenoid pigments – novel high yield fermentation New enzymes – bio-transformations Functional Molecules – a valuable source of new bio-active compounds In addition, Aquapharm recognises the value of the library to third parties to search for compounds useful to their own R&D programs and therefore enters collaborations such as that with Dowpharma. Dr. Andrew Mearns Spragg, the CEO of Aquapharm said “This deal represents a major step forward for the commercial development of Aquapharm Bio - Discovery Ltd. Working with Dowpharma to look for new enzyme activities from marine microbes justifies the Company’s approach collaborating in the exploitation of natural products from marine microbes. There are just too many potential new products and processes derivable from the wealth of marine micro-organisms for Aquapharm to be able to exploit them all itself.” "We are delighted to be entering into this collaboration with Aquapharm," said Dr. Mark Cassidy, Director, Small Molecules for Dowpharma. "Dowpharma contract manufacturing services has a more than 15 year track record of successfully using biocatalysis for the preparation of small molecule intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry". Dowpharma has experience in applying lipases, esterases, acylases, nitrilases, amidases and alcohol dehydogenases, Cassidy noted. "We are committed to extending our biocatalysis capabilities by discovering new enzymes. Access to the marine micro-organisms from Aquapharm will increase the diversity of our existing collection of wild type organisms, allowing us to discover and commercially develop differentiated solutions for the preparation of our customers’ targets," added Cassidy. Notes for Editors: 1. What does Aquapharm do? Collects samples of bacteria from the marine environment to build a microbial library and a natural products library. This is valuable because the library could contain previously unknown compounds that may provide cures for diseases or answers to manufacturing problems. Using this library, Aquapharm actively looks for new antibiotics active against multi drug resistant organisms, such as MRSA & VRSA natural organic pigments, such as that which makes salmon pink, for use in the human and animal feed industry. functional food active ingredients (foods with health giving benefits, i.e. anti-oxidants) An example of a marketed functional food is a poly-unsaturated fatty acids included in a yogurt & margarine that reduce cholesterol. Sells access to the microbial library to other companies that wish to search it for products, outside Aquapharm’s research areas, that are of interest to them. Why is Aquapharm unique? The Company was founded by and employs the first graduates in marine biotechnology who specialised in marine derived anti-infectives, in the UK. The marine microbial world remains largely undiscovered (less than 5% of what it contains has been characterised), which increases the Company’s chance of finding previously undiscovered useful compounds and new biochemical processes that could be beneficial in industrial manufacturing processes. The Company, therefore has a means to find new classes of pharmaceuticals (new drugs to fight disease) and to find industrial products (pigments, antioxidants, etc.) that can be produced organically (bio-fermentaion) i.e. without the need to use petrochemicals. It undertakes discovery in an environmentally sustainable manner. Most marine discovery companies look at larger species such as corals and sponges and collect these. Aquapharm, however, collects small samples seawater containing microscopic bacteria and fungi, which has no adverse environmental impact. For Editorial Information: Dr Andrew Mearns Spragg Aquapharm Bio - Discovery Ltd Oban, Argyll, PA37 1QA 01631 559 390 andrew@aquapharm.co.uk
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