Lesaffre completes acquisition of Gnosis

23 Nov 2018 --- Three years after acquiring a majority shareholding of Gnosis, Lesaffre has today announced the full acquisition of the Italian biotechnology company. The acquisition seeks to combine the companies into a single unit to propose a unified range of products and services to its nutritional ingredients and human health customers and partners and to continue its growth in the fast-growing environment.

Gnosis specializes in the development, production and sale of fermentation-derived ingredients. The company owns two Goods Manufacturing Practises (GMP) sites; one in Sant Antonio, Switzerland and one in Pisticci, Italy. Lesaffre develops and supplies ingredients issued from yeast and bacteria fermentation and targets a wide range of applications, from digestive health to personal care. 

“For the past three years, we have developed the cooperation between Lesaffre and Gnosis teams to become today a unique provider of products and services that are increasingly innovative and closely address our customer’s needs in the nutrition and health sectors,” says Lesaffre’s Chief Executive Officer, Antoine Baule.

Gnosis’ former CEO, Renzo Berna states: “Developing Gnosis has been an exciting challenge. I am convinced that Lesaffre will take this company even further forwards.”

The acquisition news comes just days after Gnosis announced that it had increased its production capacity with a new fermenter at their Pisticci manufacturing plant. Gnosis is seeking to increase the fermentative capacity of the plant from 120 m3 to 350 m3, to satisfy the high demand of their K2 vitamin, Vita MK7. 

Vita MK7 is produced naturally from the patented biofermentation process of the Bacillus subtilis natto within Gnosis manufacturing plant in Pisticci. Vita MK7 which is FDA and AIFA approved, the company states.