Waitaki quits biotechnology

Press, 21 July 1989, Page 14

Waitaki quits biotechnology

By

NEILL BIRSS

Waitaki International has sold some of the South Island’s most promising newtechnology business to the United States company, Life Technologies. Waitaki yesterday announced the sale of the Nelson ion-exchange resin plant, and the research plant and bio-process-ing unit at Islington. These were run by the subsidiary, Waitaki Biosciences. The buyer is Gibco New Zealand, a fully owned subsidiary of Life Technologies. Gibco will now change its name to Life Technologies. Waitaki keeps its Canadian bioscience business and a Christchurch plant for freeze-drying glands. Mr J. Turnbull, the group marketing manager for Gibco, said yesterday that all South Island staff would be kept on and research and development would continue. However, the serum-processing in Christchurch would be transferred to Gibco’s similar plant at Auckland. Gibco and Waitaki Biosciences were keen competitors in producing serum raw materials for the international biosciences. However, Waitaki had seven or eight scientists and technicians doing research and development on the serum product, while Gibco was largely in the field of selling calf serum. It is not clear whether they will be switched to other forms of research in Christchurch.

The ion-exchange technology in Nelson is in the world forefront. It, too, produces raw material for the biosciences by purifying raw material.

Mr Lance Smith, the general manager of Waikati Biosciences, has chosen not to join the company under its new owners, who have been strong commercial rivals in the past. Mr Graeme Robinson, general manager of general foods for Waitaki International, said in Christchurch last evening that the bioscience activities would need quite a lot of capital to be brought up to a “real commercial level." The Waitaki board had decided to concentrate on the basics of the meat industry. Waitaki Biosciences had been a very small

part of the company. Waitaki retains its ownership in its Canadian bioscience business, which it bought from Canada Meat Packers, Canada’s largest meatprocessing company. Waitaki retains also a freeze-drying plant which processes animal glands for foods and other products, but now is effectively out of bioscience in New Zealand. Mr Robinson said that bioscience was dominated by American companies, with Japan and Europe as the smaller players. Mr Turnbull, of Gibco, said in a statement that Gibco had recently sold its plastic manufacturing company, Labserv Products, further enhancing its focus on biotechnology products and markets. Life Technologies is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It has had Gibco in New Zealand since the early 19705, and Mr Turnbull said executives and staff were New Zealanders.

He described the Waitaki research and development unit in Christchurch as an excellent facility. There was no reason to move it to Auckland. Gibco becomes Life Technologies on August 1. One division will supply the New Zealand market with Gibco and BRL products. The other, the industrial bio-products division, will combine the biological processing operations of Gibco and Waitaki International. “The division will manufacture and market a broad range of animal blood derivatives (including sera, serum proteins, and biochemicals) as well as a proprietary line of industrial separations media," Mr Turnbull said. Serum processing will be concentrated in Auckland; chromatographic separations manufacturing will continue to be based at Nelson; the protein separations unit will continue to be based in Christchurch. Products developed by the protein unit in Christchurch or under development were "expected to significantly impact upon export sales within the next two to three years,” Mr Turnbull said. "Corporate research and development shall continue in both Auckland and Christchurch. Efforts in Auckland will focus upon serum development and corporate strategy, while the Islington laboratory will be primarily responsible for developments in separations and blood protein technology,” he added.