Perth, Feb 5, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Stirling Products Limited (ASX: STI) advises shareholders that its North American subsidiary (Stirling Products North America Inc. trading as Progressive BioActives Inc.), has signed a Term sheet with US-based aquaculture company Aqua Bounty Technologies (London stock exchange symbol ABTX) to begin trials of ProVale(tm) in the Chilean salmon market.
Aqua Bounty is a leading North American developer of aquatic biotechnology products and will manage field trials required for proof of efficacy and market approval.
ProVale(tm) is the natural bioactive ingredient for immune health and productivity solutions for the agriculture, aquaculture and pet feed industries, produced by patented technology at the PBI facility.
"We are very pleased to finally get some traction in this important market and I am sure that Aqua Bounty will prove to be an outstanding partner," commented CEO and Managing Director, Dr Calvin London.
Aqua Bounty Technologies are specialists in the business of salmon, trout and shrimp farming. The company, headquartered just outside Boston, Massachusetts also maintains modern research facilities in San Diego (US) and on a 3.5 acre hatchery site on Prince Edward Island, where PBI has its manufacturing facility. Aqua Bounty is developing advanced hybrid salmon, trout and tilapia broodstock engineered to grow faster than traditional broodstock and have also been developing products to prevent or ameliorate the effects of various shrimp and farmed fish diseases without using antibiotics or other products that could impact either the environment or human health.
Aqua Bounty is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
"The opportunity with Aqua Bounty not only provides us with an obvious upside in terms of additional revenue potential from sales of ProVale(tm), but it also provides opportunities for future developments of specialised feeds (potentially including R-salbutamol) and disease protection formulations for farmed fish," indicated Dr London.
The relationship with Aqua Bounty is aimed at the Chilean salmon markets, the second biggest in the world behind Norway. Salmon production in Chile is estimated to double in the next 6 years in response to increased exports into the United States. Farmed salmon is valued at over US$4.5 billion of which one third comes from Chile.
"The advantages of ProVale(tm) as a replacement for antibiotics in diets for farmed fish could have an immense impact on reducing the use of antibiotics in farmed fish. By weight, more antibiotics are fed to commercially farmed salmon than cattle," indicated Dr London.
"We expect trials to get underway next month, following government approvals," indicated Shane Patelakis, President of Stirling Products North America. "The trial will take about 3-4 months to complete during which time we will work with Aqua Bounty to finalize an agreement for potential distribution which will be decided towards the end of the third quarter," he added.
To read the original press release, please go to:
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/02/04/afx4608702.html
Contact
Dr London
TEL: +61-8-9480-1480
MOB: +61-400-204-616
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