|
MariCal's New Agreement
(UNITED STATES, 4/14/2009)
Portland, Maine based MariCal, a privately held animal health and nutrition biotechnology company, has begun a research collaboration agreement with the National Prawn Company (NPC), a global leader in shrimp cultivation.
NPC’s farming operations are located at Al-Lith, Saudi Arabia approximately 180 km south of Jeddah on the shores of the Red Sea. The research collaboration project utilizes MariCal’s proprietary calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) technology in targeting improvements in shrimp aquaculture production. 
NPC is a fully integrated Desert Coastal Aquaculture (DCA) company that applies eco-friendly methods for the sustainable culture and current production of 12,000 metric tons annually of antibiotic-free premium quality shrimp.
Eng. Ahmad Al-Balla, General Manager said “We were impressed by the application of MariCal’s CaSR technology in the salmon industry both in Norway and Chile. While respecting environmental needs, NPC has recently committed to invest in expanding the project capacity to 45,000 metric tons by 2013. We are eager to apply CaSR technology emerging from this research cooperation in industrial scale in our shrimp production. A merge of the vast experience of NPC in DCA technology which will be coordinated by Dr. Nasser Ayaril and the technological inputs of MariCal will provide the necessary impetus to meet the objectives of this collaboration” - H. William Harris, MariCal’s President & Chief Scientific Officer stated, “NPC is a global leader and innovator in shrimp production. Our joint R&D effort with NPC is led by Dr. Steve Jury and is focused on further development of MariCal’s technology to improve aquaculture and all food animal production in the worldwide market.”
About MariCal:
 MariCal, headquartered in Portland, Maine was founded in 1996 and is a privately held animal health and nutrition biotechnology company. The Company's proprietary technology is based on the fundamental roles that molecular polyvalent cation and nutrient-sensing receptors called Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR) proteins play in the physiological processes of the various life stages of animals.
MariCal is a joint-venture partner in Low Salinity Inc., and its subsidiary Virginia Cobia Farms based in Saltville, Virginia - a land-based recirculation production and research facility for cobia. MariCal is a recognized global leader in aquatic and terrestrial biotechnology possessing 32 issued and pending patents in their field.
To see a Video of the company, please click here
MariCal's research has uncovered that the CaSR protein serves as a biological "master switch" enabling animals, including humans, fish, livestock and companion animals to sense and respond to changes in their extracellular environments such as alterations in water salinity and nutritional composition. Today, MariCal's research is focused on animal health and nutrition and the development of the CaSR technology for performance enhancement, prophylactic and. therapeutic applications, and general health in aquaculture, poultry, swine, cattle, horses, dogs, and cats.
|
