Partnership with King's College London; Tate &a...
Tate & Lyle PLC
Tate & Lyle today announces that it will contribute £4.5 million over
a five-year period to King's College London to set up a new centre for research
into the link between nutrition and health. Collaboration between the company
and the university dates back to the 1970s when research by scientists from
King's College London and Tate & Lyle led to the development of the no-calorie
sweetener SPLENDA® Sucralose.
The new 'Tate & Lyle Health Research Centre' at King's College London will
include a clinical research facility (based at St. Thomas') and a carbohydrate
nutrition research laboratory (based at the Waterloo Campus). The research will
strengthen understanding of how carbohydrates can promote gut health and how
different types of carbohydrate can reduce risk of metabolic syndrome (the group
of disorders associated with heart disease and type II diabetes). Tate & Lyle's
investment will support new appointments within the Centre, such as a Tate &
Lyle Professor of Nutrition and Health and a Reader in Endocrinology and
Diabetes. The Centre will also draw upon the clinical expertise at Guy's and St.
Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.
King's College London has a strong international reputation for its
cross-disciplinary approach to nutrition and health, bringing together expertise
in cardiovascular disease, gut health, reproductive health, molecular biology
and nutrition. Current research includes the effect of low glycaemic
carbohydrates on metabolic syndrome, the use of prebiotic carbohydrates to
promote gut health, and the influence of diet and obesity during pregnancy on
the risk of offspring developing high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.
Tate & Lyle is currently developing ingredient solutions under its ENRICHâ„¢
service which enhance the nutritional benefit of food and beverages without
compromising on taste. These solutions will address current health issues such
as gut health (prebiotics and probiotics), satiety, paediatric health and
vitamin and mineral enrichment.
Iain Ferguson, Chief Executive of Tate & Lyle said, 'We are very proud to
contribute to the development of this new research facility at King's College
London and to support new research appointments. By combining Tate & Lyle's
commercial experience in the food and beverage industry and King's expertise in
health and nutrition we can share knowledge through the dissemination of our
research and ultimately bring new products and technologies to market. This
partnership has particular relevance to the future development of our ENRICH
service, which has been created in response to increasing consumer demand for
great tasting, good value products that enhance healthy lifestyles.'
Professor Rick Trainor, Principal of King's College London added, 'King's is
delighted by the opportunities that this investment brings to improve the health
and wellbeing of millions of people in this country and abroad. It also
represents a significant alliance with a global business partner reinforcing
King's track record of forming strategic partnerships based on its research
excellence. Research with Tate & Lyle during the seventies led to the
development of sucralose. We have great hopes for future translational research
from this Centre at King's.'
For more information contact:
Public Relations Office, King's College London
Tel: 020 7848 3202 Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk
Tate & Lyle PLC:
Ferne Hudson (Press) Tel: +44(0)20 7626 6525
Mark Robinson (Investor Relations) Tel: +44(0)20 7626 6525
Notes to Editors:
King's College London
King's College London is the fourth oldest university in England with more than
13,700 undergraduates and nearly 5,600 graduate students in nine schools of
study based at five London campuses. It is a member of the Russell Group: a
coalition of the UK's major research-based universities. The College has had 24
of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research
quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level, and it has recently
received an excellent result in its audit by the Quality Assurance Agency.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law,
international relations, medicine and the sciences, and has played a major role
in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of
the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare
professionals in Europe and is home to four Medical Research Council Centres -
more than any other university.
King's is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings, with income
from grants and contracts of more than £100 million, and has an annual turnover
of more than £363 million. Website at: www.kcl.ac.uk
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle is a world leading manufacturer of renewable food and industrial
ingredients. It uses innovative technology to transform corn, wheat and sugar
into value-added ingredients for customers in the food, beverage,
pharmaceutical, cosmetic, paper, packaging and building industries. The Company
is a leader in cereal sweeteners and starches, sugar refining, value added food
and industrial ingredients, and citric acid. Tate & Lyle is the world number-one
in industrial starches and is the sole manufacturer of SPLENDA® Sucralose.
Headquartered in London, Tate & Lyle is listed on the London Stock Exchange
under the symbol TATE.L. In the US its ADRs trade under TATYY. The Company
operates more than 65 production facilities in 29 countries, throughout Europe,
the Americas and South East Asia. It employs 7,000 people in its subsidiaries
with a further 4,800 employed in joint ventures. Sales in the year to 31 March
2006 totalled £3.7 billion. Additional information can be found on
www.tateandlyle.com
SPLENDA(R) is a trademark of McNeil Nutritionals, LLC