ADM, Burcon agreement finalised

Burcon NutraScience Corporation and Archer Daniels Midland Company have announced the finalisation of their licensing and development agreement for ADM to commercialise Burcon's canola protein ingredients.

In March the companies announced the signing of a letter of intent for such an arrangement, but final terms had not been decided upon and the letter did not constitute a legally binding document.

According to a statement from Burcon​, the agreement outlines the process by which the two parties will carry out final development of the technology to produce Burcon's Puratein and Supertein canola protein isolates, as well as special grades of the products and derivative products.

The agreement includes the intention that ADM will develop applications for the products, obtain regulatory approvals, construct one or more full-scale production facilities and have the exclusive right to produce, promote, market and sell the products worldwide.

"This agreement marries ADM's strengths in the development, production, sales and marketing of speciality ingredients with Burcon's novel protein extraction technology,"​ said Johann F. Tergesen, Burcon's president & COO. "Together, our objective is to chart a path through the final development process that will ensure speed to market for our products."​

Canola, recognised for its nutritional qualities, is the second-largest oilseed crop in the world after soybeans. ADM is one of the world's largest processors of canola and Burcon has developed a process to extract and purify valuable proteins from canola meal, a co- product of the canola crushing process.

Protein ingredients are used in a wide variety of foods, personal care products and other commercial and industrial applications. The protein ingredient industry is currently experiencing rapid growth and estimates of the global market for protein ingredients now exceed $10 billion.

Investments carried out by Burcon last year, especially those in Canada, weighed heavily on the company's 2002 financial results and although things would appear to be looking up following a number of scientific developments and this deal with ADM​, Burcon announced on Tuesday its intention to list on the Frankfurt stock exchange in Germany in order to increase its profile with both private and institutional investors across Europe.