Waiting for tagatose

US biotech company Spherix will be putting pressure on Denmark's Arla Foods to begin production of the natural sweetener tagatose in the coming months.

Arla, granted the license for tagatose production in 1996, has announced that its first tagatose production plant will be on line in April or May 2003.

But Spherix had already instituted arbitration proceedings against Arla in 2002 because of the delay on production. If Spherix finds that the length of time taken to bring the product to market has abrogated the license terms, it plans to seek damages from Arla for revenues lost. It will then develop alternate sources of supply of tagatose for uses in food products, the company claims.

Spherix also commented on news of a patent application for a process to manufacture tagatose which Arla submitted to the US Patent Office. According to Spherix, shareholders had expressed concern that a new patent for Arla could reduce its reliance on Spherix's patent. Spherix's patent counsel said that, should a patent issue, it would be dominated by Spherix's patents and would not decrease Arla's obligations to pay royalties to Spherix.

Also this week Spherix said it is to supply Naturlose to manufacturers of toothpaste, mouthwash and other cosmetics for testing in their products. Naturlose would be used as a low-calorie sweetener to improve taste and acceptability.