InterMed investment targets Malaysia’s functional secrets

InterMed Discovery (IMD), formed three years ago following a management buyout of pharma group Bayer HealthCare, said that the agreement would open up new areas in the field of natural functional ingredients for food, medicines and cosmetic products.

As part of this deal, Biotropics Malaysia Berhad, a group set up to capitalise on the finished product potential of Malaysia’s natural biodiversity, has consolidated its minority holding in​IMD with a €7.44m equity transaction.

The funding will be used to strengthen IMD’s financial position, allowing further development in discovering natural ingredient products as well as co-funding the group’s pharmaceutical operations, the group says.

“This additional investment from our strategic partner, Biotropics ​Malaysia​ Berhad, will further leverage the discovery and development of innovative natural products,”​ stated IMD.

Ingredient access​

IMD chief executive officer Bernard Becker told NutraIngredients.com that for its part in the cooperation the company would be granted access to information on a number of Malaysia-sourced natural extracts. Becker claimed that through this access, Biotropics will be able to manufacturer and provide innovative ingredients from the country exclusively in Europe and the US.

“We are working to find active ingredients,”​ he stated. “We have looked at the data on bioactivity and are then able to provide a research pipeline for finding functional products.”​

Functional focus​

Becker said that IMD has outlined three key areas as part of its focus on working towards functional development.

These areas included various mechanisms for weight management, mental performance and what Becker called the ‘old classic’ of cardiovascular health.

The agreement is not the first time that IMD has entered into a cooperation agreement, with the developer having signed a similar deal with Cognis in February last year to provide dossiers on food ingredients.