Croda buys Korean beauty actives firm

Croda International has bought Solus Biotech from Korea’s Solus Advanced Materials for about $277 million, subject to regulatory approval. Solus Biotech makes biotechnology-derived beauty actives, notably naturally derived powder ceramides and GMP phospholipids for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. Both are high-growth markets, with the number of new personal care products containing ceramides doubling over the last five years.

Croda said that the ceramides part “will significantly strengthen” its beauty actives portfolio and increase its exposure to targeted prestige segments, while also creating a new biotechnology R&D hub in the region. Meanwhile, the phospholipids business will boost its pharma presence in Asia and enable collaborative R&D with its Avanti business for the supply of lipid systems for drug delivery. Solus is developing biotech-derived retinol as an alternative to synthetics.