Press release
Personal Care
April 13, 2007

Degussa extends its portfolio of active ingredients by a new partnership with Sabinsa

Goldschmidt GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Degussa GmbH (Germany) and Sami Labs Limited (India), the holding company of Sabinsa Group of Companies, have announced an exclusive marketing partnership which covers the transfer of a selected number of specialised high-quality standardized botanical extracts from Sabinsa to Goldschmidt for the Personal Care industry.

In today’s cosmetics arena, a critical step to success is the ability to apply the technology to finally build a concept based on products being efficient, safe and properly formulated. The goal is to develop and deliver even more innovative and efficacious products to meet the needs of customers and consumers by leveraging the key strengths of each company.

Willy Klipp, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Degussa’s business line Goldschmidt Personal Care, states “This agreement essentially allows us to offer novel nature-derived active ingredients to our broad customer base and reinforce our position as a preferred partner for the development of innovative products and new applications”.

Madhu Subramanian, Executive Vice President - Global Operations of Sabinsa states “This partnership agreement will focus on broader and deeper market penetration of our line of cosmeceutical products due to Degussa Goldschmidt international presence in the Personal Care industry”.

This partnership is seen as the initial step to a closer collaborative venture between Goldschmidt and Sabinsa. It is the intention of both companies to further strengthen their relationship by jointly developing and commercializing new and innovative active ingredients in the field of Personal Care.

“It is a perfect fit as Sabinsa’s strength lies in the identification of bio-active compounds from Indian habitats, whereas we bring our competences in the fields of modern cosmetic claim substantiation and extensive formulation know-how to the table.” comments Dr. Peter Lersch, Head of R&D Care Ingredients/Biotechnology.

Initial products developed through the partnership are expected to be launched in the second half of 2007. They will complement Degussa's well-known product portfolio consisting of a unique range of organic and silicone-based specialties and active ingredients especially designed as raw materials for personal care products.

Degussa's business line Goldschmidt Personal Care is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of raw materials, additives, and active ingredients for the cosmetics industry. All business activities are strongly supported by application technology, as well as by own in-house research & development. A dedicated team of highly skilled professionals is committed to excellence and customer satisfaction. Among other products Degussa is specialised in manufacturing human skin identical sphingolipids including Ceramides by biotech means. Screening, identification and confirmation of biological activities for novel ingredients is carried with state-of-the-art cell and molecular biology including the use of DNA-Chip technology, cell cultures, artificial skin models and the validation of results in in-vivo studies.

Sabinsa is committed and dedicated to the principles of tradition, innovation and research. The Group Chairman & Managing Director, Dr. Muhammed Majeed, strongly believes in “Creating the Future from the Past” states Madhu Subramanian, Executive Vice President – Global Operations. Founded on the modern application of standardized Phytonutrients, Sabinsa has established itself as a manufacturer and supplier of high-quality fine chemicals, organic intermediates and standardized botanical extracts. Sabinsa also provides custom manufacturing from lab scale to pilot/semi-commercial scale and process development. Sabinsa has their Corporate R&D facility in Peenya, Bangalore - India and six manufacturing facilities in and around Bangalore, India.

Degussa

A wholly owned subsidiary of the RAG Group – is the global market leader in specialty chemicals. Our business is creating essentials – innovative products and system solutions that make indispensable contributions to our customers’ success. In fiscal 2005 around 44,000 employees worldwide generated sales of 11.8 billion euros and operating profits (EBIT) of 940 million euros.