San Diego, California
May 17, 2007
Diversa Corporation (Nasdaq: DVSA), a leader in the
development of high-performance specialty enzymes, announced
today that it has achieved two important product development
milestones under its collaboration agreement with
BASF (NYSE: BF), which have
resulted in two payments to Diversa in late 2006. Diversa has
successfully completed the initial research phase of the
program, and both organizations have agreed to take the programs
forward to the next development stage. Diversa is currently
applying its DirectEvolution(R) enzyme optimization tools to
refine the properties of the lead candidate.
In February of 2006, the two companies announced that they had
entered into an expanded alliance under which they would focus
on improving industrial processes and product performance in key
market areas such as pulp and paper and fine chemicals by
combining BASF's application know how, chemical and
biotechnology expertise, and market knowledge with Diversa's
enzyme discovery and optimization technologies. Under the
agreement, Diversa is responsible for discovery and optimization
of new enzymes, and BASF is responsible for product and process
development and all commercialization matters.
"BASF is the world's leading chemical company, and achieving
this important milestone reinforces Diversa's ability to provide
custom enzyme solutions to a proven market leader," stated
Edward T. Shonsey, Diversa's chief executive officer.
"We are very pleased with the progress our teams are making on
this project," said Dr. Alfred Hackenberger, president of
specialty chemicals research at BASF. "We look forward to
continuing to leverage our combined expertise in biotechnology
and chemistry in this program, which is aimed at system
innovations for diverse industrial applications."
BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical
Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics,
performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals
to crude oil and natural gas. As a reliable partner to virtually
all industries, BASF's high-value products and intelligent
system solutions help its customers to be more successful. BASF
develops new technologies and uses them to meet the challenges
of the future and open up additional market opportunities. It
combines economic success with environmental protection and
social responsibility, thus contributing to a better future.
BASF has approximately 95,000 employees and posted sales of 52.6
billion euro in 2006. BASF shares are traded on the stock
exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA), New York (BF) and
Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the
Internet at http://www.basf.com.
Since 1994, San Diego-based Diversa Corporation has pioneered
the development of high-performance specialty enzymes. Diversa
possesses the world's broadest array of enzymes derived from
bio-diverse environments as well as patented DirectEvolution(R)
technologies. Diversa customizes enzymes for manufacturers
within the alternative fuel, industrial, and health and
nutrition markets to enable higher throughput, lower costs, and
improved environmental outcomes. On February 12, 2007, Diversa
entered into a merger agreement with Celunol Corp. pursuant to
which a wholly owned subsidiary of Diversa will merge with and
into Celunol, with Celunol as the surviving corporation,
becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Diversa. The proposed
merger transaction is subject to customary closing conditions,
including receipt of certain regulatory approvals and the
approval of the stockholders of Diversa and Celunol. For more
information, please visit
http://www.diversa.com.
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