Croda and Aquapharm to develop topical cosmetic solutions.

Marine biotechnology company Aquapharm Biodiscovery, Oban, Scotland, and U.K.-based Croda International have signed a collaboration and license agreement, which will provide Croda with an exclusive license to novel marine derived natural products identified through Aquapharm's proprietary microbial library for use in topical cosmetic applications in skin and hair care.

Under the agreement, Aquapharm will use its proprietary assays to screen its library of marine microbes for the discovery and generation of novel cosmetic ingredients for skin and hair care applications. In return, Aquapharm will receive funding from Croda to conduct this research, along with milestone payments and royalties on commercialization of any resulting products. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Andrew Mearns Spragg, PhD, CEO of Aquapharm said, "We are very pleased to have entered into this collaboration with Croda, a leading player in the supply of specialty chemicals into the personal care market. This collaboration further demonstrates our leading position in developing new products from marine organisms and the breadth of applications of our library. We look forward to working together with Croda to identify novel and natural cosmetic ingredients from our marine library."