Enzymotec was an Israeli speciality chemicals company. It was acquired by

Frutarom Frutarom Industries Ltd. ( he, פרוטרום תעשיות בע"מ) is an Israeli-based company that specializes in the production and distribution of extracts for flavor and fragrance. In 2015 it had sales of over $872 million. Shares of the ...

in Jan 2018.

History

The company was founded in 1999 by Dr. Sobhi Basheer at the

Naiot Venture Accelerator Naiot Venture accelerator was a technological Incubator, engaged in early seed startup investments. It was based in Yokneam, Israel. Naiot is a full subsidiary of the Ofer Hi-Tech Group, the venture capital investment arm of the Ofer Brothers ...

that markets products created from

lipids Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids includ ...

from raw sources like fish and plants as

food ingredient An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial products contain secret ingredients that are purpo ...

dietary supplements A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

, and

medical food Medical foods are foods that are specially formulated and intended for the dietary management of a disease that has distinctive nutritional needs that cannot be met by normal diet alone. In the United States they were defined in the Food and Drug A ...

products for adults, children, and infants. Index to whole prospectus i
here
/ref> As of 2013 it was the second biggest company in the global

krill oil Krill oil is an extract prepared from a species of Antarctic krill, '' Euphausia superba''. Processed krill oil is commonly sold as a dietary supplement. Two components of krill oil are omega-3 fatty acids similar to those in fish oil, and phospho ...

market with a 30% market share, and was emphasizing its potential for growth in the Chinese market for infant nutrition with its lipid-based InFat food ingredient. It began selling medical food products in the US through its subsidiary, Vaya Pharma, in 2011. As of 2013 Enzymotec had raised $17 million and was selling products globally, and in the summer of 2013 it filed a prospectus for its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

on NASDAQ, seeking to raise around $75M; the IPO was held in October and raised $63M. In 2014 Enzymotec settled litigation with Canada-based Neptune Technologies & Bioressources over patents held by Neptune related to phospholipids like omega-3 oil extracted from

. In 2015 shareholders filed a class action

securities fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in lo ...

case against Enzymotec over the IPO prospectus, claiming that the company's management had misrepresented its future profitability and the regulatory status of its products in China; most claims in the suit survived a motion to dismiss in December 2015.

, which had built a minority position in the firm, announced on 29 Oct 2017 that it would acquire Enzymotec's remaining equity for approximately $168 million. After the transaction completed on 11 Jan 2018, Enzymotec delisted from the NASDAQ.

References

External links

Enzymotec website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912224033/http://www.enzymotec.com/ , date=2016-09-12
Vaya Pharma website
Medical food Manufacturing companies of Israel