This morning, IFL and Arkea hf, the parent company of the biotechnology company Prokaria, issued a joint press release stating that they had signed an agreement that a special company owned by IFL will take over Prokaria's genetic and enzyme division.
The new company, which bears the name Prokaria, will take over Prokaria's current projects, facilities and equipment and hire employees from these divisions. Dr. Jakob K. Kristjánsson, who has been the CEO of Prokaria, will take part in these changes and take a seat on the board of the new company.
In recent years, Prokaria has built up strong research and utilization of nature's genetic resources in the field of genetic analysis and enzyme development. The company has development agreements with large international companies in the food industry such as Nestlé and Roquette. The company also serves a large number of domestic and foreign customers in the genetic analysis of fish, animals and the environment. Prokaria has been a pioneer in Iceland in the development and use of genetic analysis in aquaculture and other fields.
Arkea hf. will continue to operate in its other subsidiaries on projects in the field of DNA enzymes and protein production from geothermal power plant emissions. The aim is to continue good co-operation on these and other projects between these parties.
IFL's operations have developed a lot in recent years and further changes in the operations are ahead. A law was recently passed in Althingi on the establishment of Matvælarannsóknir hf, and IFL will be a large part of the new company's operations. Matvælarannsóknir hf merges IFL, Matra, which is a collaborative project between the Institute of Technology and the Agricultural University, and the Environment Agency's Laboratory. The merger creates opportunities to build a strong research unit in the field of innovation in the food industry, which will also focus on ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of food through research in that field. The inclusion of Prokaria's genetic and enzyme development divisions in this process provides even further opportunities for development and expansion for Matvælarannsóknir hf.
Further information is provided by Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir
Phone 893 8251