NOTTINGHAM, UK – May 9, 2012 – Novozymes Biopharma, part of Novozymes A/S, the world leader in
bioinnovation, has announced the first shipment of the company’s Bacillus-derived hyaluronic acid, Hyasis®,
from its newly inaugurated manufacturing facility in China, which represents an
investment of more than DKK 350 million. The first commercial products using
Hyasis as a raw material are expected to reach the market in Q2 of this year.
“Shipment of the first commercial
hyaluronic acid material from our new Q7 GMP facility marks an important
milestone on our journey to becoming a leading producer of high quality hyaluronic
acid. With our new patented process, based on the safe bacteria Bacillus subtilis, the market will have
access to a new improved source of HA which is fully compliant with the highest
pharmaceutical standards and developed with customers’ specific needs in mind”,
says Thomas Videbæk, Executive Vice President of Novozymes A/S.
Hyasis has been specifically designed to
fill a gap in the market for biomedical and pharmaceutical manufacturers
looking for Q7 regulatory compliant ingredients with superior performance
benefits.
“Improving how our customers can process
and formulate HA for medical applications has been the key driver in the
development of Novozymes’ new patented HA production process and facility”,
comments Hans Ole Klingenberg, Global Marketing Director at Novozymes. “Our
unique technology will expand opportunities in the pharmaceutical and
biomedical industries across multiple applications for HA, creating improved
therapeutic treatments with real benefits for both manufacturers and patients.”
Novozymes’ focus on improving processes
for its customers has resulted in a hyaluronic acid that offers a wealth of
innovative advantages over competitive sources. Superior heat stability permits
autoclaving without significant loss of product viscosity, and tight control of
molecular weight during production allows for excellent control in
formulations. Novozymes’ Hyasis also offers its customers unmatched
batch-to-batch consistency in production at large-scale, and the capability of
the product to dissolve five times faster than other sources can reduce
processing times by up to 50%.
“We believe we have a very strong
offering for the medical device and pharmaceutical markets. Not only is Hyasis
manufactured in accordance with requirements for an active pharmaceutical
ingredient, it also offers unrivalled safety, consistency and performance to
the benefit of our customers and partners. In addition, customers will have
access to our dedicated team of researchers who can help them solve their
formulation problems, resulting in time and cost savings, manufacturing
processes improvement and safer and more efficient treatments for patients. In
this way, we are setting a whole new standard in the market and redefining the
use of hyaluronic acid”, says Thomas Videbæk.
A critical component in the development
of an improved biomedical grade HA has been the construction of the new manufacturing
facility designed exclusively for Hyasis. Located in Tianjin , China
First customers have been testing the product
for some time with good results and Hyasis is now being sold to medical device
and pharmaceutical customers. Thomas Videbæk says, “The market for
pharmaceutical use of hyaluronic acid is estimated to have a size of DKK 1
billion. With regulations in the medical industry getting tougher and tougher,
we believe we are well positioned in Novozymes to offer customers an improved
source of hyaluronic acid that will comply with their long term needs – and
with our long term investment in this new facility we aim to play a leading
role in the market for hyaluronic acid for many years to come.”
For further information on Novozymes’ Hyasis,
Bacillus-derived hyaluronic acid,
please visit www.hyasis.com.
About Novozymes
Novozymes is the world leader in
bioinnovation. Together with customers across a broad array of industries, we
create tomorrow’s industrial biosolutions, improving our customers' business
and the use of our planet's resources.
With over 700 products used in 130
countries, Novozymes’ bioinnovations improve industrial performance and
safeguard the world’s resources by offering superior and sustainable solutions
for tomorrow’s ever-changing marketplace. Read more at www.novozymes.com.
