Bactana Corp., a biotech startup headquartered at UConn’s Technology Incubation Program in Farmington, announced Tuesday it has agreed to be acquired by a global manufacturer.
Bactana is developing advancements in anaerobic bacteria isolation and fermentation as a way to improve pet and livestock health. It recently launched into the Canadian market a supplement for pets aimed at controlling diabetes.
It was originally spun out of research at Cornell University, and has been developing at UConn’s Farmington incubator for the last five years. It’s a portfolio company of Connecticut Innovations, the state’s venture capital investing arm.
Now Bactana will be acquired by Kemin Industries, based in Des Moines, Iowa. Kemin supplies specialty ingredients for human and animal health, pet food, crop technologies, biofuels, and animal vaccines.
“This acquisition aligns with Kemin’s long-term vision to explore emerging technologies in intestinal health and further strengthen our position as an industry leader,” said Kimberly Nelson, president of Kemin Nutrisurance.
“This agreement, coupled with Kemin’s global reach, will help us better position our technology for global application—particularly in the animal health sector—and improve the well-being of animals, and potentially people, around the world for years to come,” said John Kallassy, CEO of Bactana Corp.
The value of the deal was not disclosed.
