Re Contract

RNS Number : 1426M

Symphony Environmental Tech. PLC

21 August 2013

 



Press release

21 August 2013

Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc

("Symphony Environmental" or the "Company")

Agreement signed to market new anti-microbial product

Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (AIM: SYM), global specialists in advanced plastics and tyre recycling technologies - in harmony with public health & the environment, is pleased to announce that it has signed a five year supply and marketing agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica ("Janssen"), a division of Johnson & Johnson, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical and healthcare companies.

The agreement covers an important breakthrough in anti-fungal and anti-bacterial technology for plastic applications. 

Janssen PMP (a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica) and Symphony have been working together for the past two years to introduce a master batch which can be put into plastic products at the manufacturing stage to control dangerous bacteria such as MRSA, E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Pseudomonas, and Aspergillus Niger; and in particular algae and fungi such as M. Piriformis and P. Roqueforti.  The master batch will provide better protection against bacteria, fungi, moulds, mildew and algae for plastics including packaging, agriculture and fisheries products, semi rigid and rigid containers, medical instruments and pipes. 

The agreement provides Symphony with distribution and marketing rights in a large number of countries. The product will be sold by Symphony and co-branded under the d2p brand name.

The need for this type of technology was highlighted by the UK Chief Medical Officer's warning in March 2013 that there is a catastrophic threat of resistance to antibiotics.  Also, the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) has reported that between 30% and 50% of the world's four billion tonnes of food products goes to waste each year.

Tests carried out by Janssen and at other laboratories have proved that the product will increase the shelf-life of bread and cheese, with the potential to do the same for fruit, vegetables poultry, meat and fish. It does this without contaminating the food. Symphony's Board believes that a technology which can give plastic products the ability to protect against this microbial and fungal contamination is a significant development in the sector. 

Michael Laurier, Chief Executive of Symphony, commented:  "This technology is an important addition to Symphony's d2p product range and will be marketed through Symphony's established international distribution network.  The collaboration with Janssen is a significant step forward in the development of Symphony's business, as this is ground-breaking technology."

"Spread of infection and food wastage are major global problems.  According to the UK Government we throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink in the UK alone, most of which could have been consumed, at an estimated cost of £12 billion a year.  Symphony's Board believes that the potential for the product is significant and we are dedicating resources within our current distribution network to enable revenues to be generated as quickly as possible. We are already negotiating with large global users after positive laboratory tests and manufacturing trials with them, and await regulatory approval which we anticipate will be granted during 2014.  Commercial sales volumes for food-contact applications are expected to be realised in 2014/15, and for non-food applications perhaps even earlier."

A video presentation can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61WdX-_Jjmw

- ENDS -

For further information:

Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc
Michael Laurier, CEO	Tel: [phone]
Ian Bristow, FD
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe
Mark Percy / David Foreman (Corporate Finance)	Tel: [phone]
Katie Ratner (Corporate Broking)

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Symphony Environmental Technologies plc

In addition to the d2p technology described above Symphony has developed oxo-biodegradable technology which turns plastic at the end of its service-life into a material with a completely different molecular structure.  It is then no longer a plastic and can be bioassimilated in the open environment in the same way as a leaf. The technology is branded d2w® and appears as a droplet logo on many thousands of tonnes of plastic packaging and other plastic products around the world. In some countries oxo-biodegradable plastic is mandatory.  For a video of d2w® plastic degrading see http://degradable.net/play-videos/4.

In addition Symphony has developed the d2Detector®, a portable device which analyses plastics and detects counterfeit products.  Symphony's d2t tagging and tracer technology is also available for further security. See www.d2t.net

Symphony has a diverse and growing customer-base and has established itself as an international business with 74 distributors around the world. Products made with Symphony's plastic technologies are now available in 97countries and in many different product applications. Symphony is certified to ISO9001 and ISO14001.

Symphony is a member of The British Plastics Federation (BPF), the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (www.biodeg.org) (OPA), the Society for the Chemical Industry (UK), and the Pacific Basin Environmental Council. Symphony actively participates in the Committee work of the British Standards Institute (BSI), the American Standards Organisation (ASTM), the European Standards Organisation (CEN), and the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

In addition, Symphony Recycling Technologies ("SRT") is developing innovative and cost-effective recycling systems to convert scrap tyres and other waste-streams into valuable products, and has recently announced its "SymTyre S300." (http://symphonyrecycling.net/technology/symtyres300/)  This is a compact machine which can flat-pack a scrap tyre in under a minute, making huge savings in the space needed to store and transport scrap tyres, with resulting savings of cost, road-space, and harmful emissions, and reducing the unsightly and uneconomic use of thousands of acres of land for tyre-dumps. The machine also prevents scrap tyres being used on the road again, and protects against the spread of disease by mosquitoes breeding in rainwater which collects in scrap tyres.  This is the first stage of an integrated tyre-recycling technology which SRT is developing.

Further information on the Symphony Group can be found at www.symphonyenvironmental.com.

About Janssen Pharmaceutica

Janssen PMP is a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, which forms part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. Johnson & Johnson is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA and has more than 250 operating companies in 60 countries employing approximately 129,000 people.

Janssen PMP has more than 30 years of experience in the development and commercialization of sustainable products that are used to preserve and protect materials against biological degradation.

 

END

 

 

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