Press Room
February 14, 2003
German Version
Cognis’ Exclusive Licensing Agreement with Natural ASA for Tonalin Goes Into Effect
Cognis to Further Expand Conjugated Linoleic Acid to Dietary Supplements, Food Ingredients, Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics
Duesseldorf, February 14, 2003 – Cognis, a global specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients company, and Natural ASA, a Norwegian research and development company, have announced that the licensing agreement signed in August 2002 for TONALIN® brand conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) will go into effect as of February 15, 2003.
Natural ASA is the world’s leading supplier of CLA and reported sales of $ 23.8 million in 2001. Natural’s TONALIN® brand is primarily marketed today as a dietary supplement with benefits for lean body mass management. Other health enhancing applications for CLA, an essential fatty acid, are being developed. The agreement grants Cognis an exclusive license to Natural ASA’s CLA intellectual property, technology, and marketing, as well as an exclusive license for the use of the TONALIN® trademark. Now that the licensing agreement between Cognis and Natural is in effect, TONALIN® CLA will be sold and marketed under Cognis’ Nutrition and Health Division. The companies are collaborating to ensure a seamless transfer of the TONALIN® portfolio.
The company is seeking to expand TONALIN® CLA’s market share in its primary marketing channel of dietary supplements, as well as advance the key markets of foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. In conjunction with this expansion, Cognis anticipates the immediate launch of strategic sales and marketing programs to further solidify TONALIN® CLA as the leading dietary supplement of its kind.
“We are pleased that the licensing agreement between Cognis and Natural is now in effect so we can begin implementing programs to increase TONALIN® CLA’s visibility in the marketplace, and build upon its already impressive record of clinical substantiation,” stated Paul Allen, Group Vice President, Cognis Nutrition and Health. “In 2003, Cognis will continue to strengthen TONALIN® CLA’s brand equity in established marketing channels, developing marketing opportunities in new channels, and promoting credible research on CLA’s multitude of promising health applications.”
Cognis has agreed to make royalty payments to Natural based on CLA sales for the remainder of the life of the intellectual property and know-how, guaranteeing minimum payments for the first three years. Market potential for CLA can not be predicted easily but growth rates of 44 percent, like Natural recorded for 2002 compared to the previous year, are promising.
This agreement is mutually advantageous for Cognis and Natural. Cognis is seeking to build its product portfolio of nature-based ingredients for a variety of markets. Natural ASA’s goal has been to develop CLA to a stage at which global commercial development of CLA could be taken over by a partner through licensing agreements. Tore H. Rasmussen, Chairman at Natural ASA calls Cognis “the ideal licensing partner” for these purposes.
About CLA:
CLA is a conjugated fatty acid that is a natural part of the human diet through its presence in meat and dairy products. The CLA content of natural dairy products has fallen over time, and the human body now needs to supplement its consumption of CLA from other sources. Natural has developed and patented a number of CLA-containing substances, and expects to see CLA used in the future for preventive medical purposes. Tonalin® CLA utilizes a new proprietary process that converts linoleic acid from safflower oil into CLA, providing the highest activity available at 80 percent.
About Cognis:
Cognis (www.cognis.com) is a worldwide supplier of innovative specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients with almost 9,100 employees in close to 50 countries. The company has dedicated its activities to a high level of sustainability and delivers natural-source ingredients for food, nutrition and healthcare markets and serves major customers in the cosmetics, detergents and cleaners industries. Additionally, Cognis provides solutions for a number of other industries such as, coatings and inks, lubricants, textiles and plastics as well as agrosolutions and mining chemicals.
Cognis is owned by private equity funds advised by Permira, GS Capital Partners, and Schroder Ventures Life Sciences. In 2001, Cognis recorded sales of 3.1 billion euros and an operating profit of 174 million euros.
In the first nine months of 2002, sales were 2.4 billion euros. Cognis Nutrition and Health, a business unit of Cognis Group, provides antioxidant, botanical and nature-based ingredients for dietary supplements; pharmaceuticals and healthcare; functional foods and medical nutrition; and animal nutrition. As a leader in food technology, Cognis manufactures emulsifiers, emulsifier-based compounds, and numerous other specialty products for the food industry worldwide.
About Natural:
Natural (www.natural.no), headquartered in Oslo, Norway, is a research and development company positioned between an external research network and the food/animal feed industries. Natural’s objective is to develop high-value bioactive patent-protected substanses and products for licensing to global markets. The main markets are producers of animal feed, human food, and dietary supplements around the world. The research network consists of over 150 researchers connected to universities and research organizations, principally in the USA.
Contacts at Cognis:
Paul Allen, Group Vice President, Cognis Nutrition & Health
Phone: +1-513-482-3004
email: paul.allen@cognis-us.com
Internet: www.cognis.com
Susanne Sengel, Corporate Communications Manager
Phone: +49-211-7940-5431
email: susanne.sengel@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com
Contacts at Natural:
Tore H. Rasmussen , Chairman, Natural ASA
Phone: + 47 90774777
email: tore@natural.no
Internet: www.natural.no