Carbery to Use Sepragen Process to Make New Ingredients for
Infant Formula and Nutritional Supplements in Europe
HAYWARD, CA, October 15, 1998 - Sepragen Corporation (OTC BB: SPGNU, SPGNA, SPGNW) announced today the
signing of a definitive licensing agreement for its Sepralac® Process with Carbery Food
Ingredients, of Ballineen, Ireland, a leading European manufacturer of
"high-end" dairy based food ingredients.
Under the agreement, Carbery will have manufacturing and marketing
rights to certain products produced from the Sepralac® Process. In return Sepragen will
receive nearly $500,000 in license and initial equipment purchase. In addition, the
Company will receive on-going royalties for its technology.
Sepragen's patented Sepralac® Process extracts added value
ingredients from whey, a by-product of cheese manufacturing currently used to make
low-value commodity products. According to Sepragen's Senior Scientist Zahid Mozaffar,
Ph.D., the Company's process technology "could play a particularly key role as a
significant step toward the development of an infant formula that most closely
approximates mother's milk."
The Sepralac®-extracted high-value ingredients are also expected
to find increased use in health-enhancing nutraceuticals, sports and performance foods and
fat-free specialty diets.
John Holland, Operations Director, Carbery Food Ingredients,
commented, "Based on experience to date with Sepralac®'s respective manufacturing
and customer benefits, we believe our alliance with Sepragen will make measurable
contributions to Carbery's ingredients business."
"Carbery's strategy is one of leadership and profitability
through technology innovation," he continued. "Our history has been one of
'technology push.' Sepragen's technology will allow us to explore and develop emerging
high value markets not only in infant nutrition but also in nutritional supplements
related to muscle development, weight loss and health enhancement."
"As the market for these high-value ingredients grows, Carbery
will be strategically positioned to further develop the application of whey fractions like
alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin, and lactoferrin in such sectors."
Carbery has tested the Sepralac® Process for more than a year and
produced various products from whey, in particular alpha-lactalbumin, which has been
supplied to certain leading infant formula companies for clinical testing. Published
results have shown that the amino acid serum profile of infants fed with alpha-lactalbumin
enriched formula is closer to that of breast-fed babies as compared with that of
formula-fed babies. Carbery is an established supplier to some of the world's leading
infant formula companies.
Sepragen President and CEO Vinit Saxena said, "The agreement
with Carbery marks another important step in commercializing Sepragen's technology in the
dairy business. It also illustrates our commitment to create long-term value for our
licensees and share in that value creation along with traditional sales of equipment and
consumables."
"We expect to work closely with Carbery as they move through
the phase of market development into large scale manufacture," Saxena added. "We
look forward to a long, mutually profitable relationship."
Carbery's portfolio includes a variety of cheeses, food ingredients
including protein isolates and infant formula ingredients, as well as lactose derived food
grade alcohol. Carbery is viewed as a pioneer in the dairy business and operates at the
frontiers of technology development. It was the first company in Europe to commercialize
WPC production using membrane separations and also the first to produce food grade alcohol
from lactose, both of which represent a significant share of Carbery's revenues.
Sepragen develops and sells processes and products using its
proprietary radial flow chromatography systems for the dairy, citrus juice and
biopharmaceutical markets. It recently announced a licensing agreement with another
leading dairy ingredient producer. Evaluation of its processes with leading customers in
the juice industry are currently in progress. In addition, Sepragen continues to market
its line of Superflo® Columns, QuantaSep® automation systems, and SepraSorb® media to
the biotechnology customer base.
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The statements in this release that relate to future events
or performance, statements about growth, future regulatory clearances, levels of sales and
market size and future manufacturing capacity and efficiencies are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with
uncertainties related to the development of markets for and commercial acceptance of the
company's products and services, the availability of components, competitors' product
introductions and other risks identified in the company's SEC filings. Actual results may
differ from those described in these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date hereof.
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