German specialty chemicals company Evonik has acquired French start-up Alkion Biopharma.
Alkion was created as a spin-off from Imperial College London in 2011 and specialises in the creation of biotechnological active ingredients for use in cosmetics.
Evonik hopes that the acquisition will enable it to expand its personal care portfolio with new active ingredients. Alkion is known for its innovative approach to cultivating plant biomass and obtaining extracts without altering the plant genome. Franck Michoux, founder and CEO of Alkion said: “We are simply reinforcing the strength of nature. This results in unique, innovative cosmetic actives.”
Tammo Boinowitz, head of the Personal Care Business Line at Evonik, said: “"Thanks to its formulation and application expertise, Evonik enjoys an excellent reputation in the cosmetics industry. We are resolutely continuing along this path with the acquisition of Alkion. This allows us to offer customers product concepts to set themselves apart from competitors.”