Aquapharm clinches Australian science partnership

LIFE sciences outfit Aquapharm, which is run by former Ardana chief executive Simon Best, yesterday unveiled a partnership deal with Australian scientists to develop ingredients for drugs and toiletries using micro-organisms from under the sea.

By PETER RANSCOMBE

Published 9th Mar 2012, 19:53 BST

Under the deal, Oban-based Aquapharm will be able to go through la giant library of biological samples assembled by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims) and test them to see if they have any useful properties.

Jon Williams, commercial vice-president at Aquapharm, said: “Aims is amongst the world’s top specialist research institutions and it has cultivated a sizeable collection of marine micro-organisms.”

Best floated Ardana in 2005 but the life sciences firm fell into administration in 2008. He also commercialised the technology behind Dolly the Sheep, the first cloned mammal.

PETER RANSCOMBE