TOKYO — Ajinomoto Co., Inc. has acquired an equity position in Cambrooke Therapeutics, Inc., a U.S. medical foods company, through Ajinomoto North America, Inc. for approximately $64 million. The transaction makes Cambrooke a wholly owned subsidiary of Ajinomoto.
Founded in 2000, Cambrooke offers a product portfolio that serves the needs of people with chronic health conditions reliant on medical foods and specialized functional foods as a central part of their daily nutritional needs. The company develops and manufactures such products as medical foods for patients with amino acid metabolism disorders, medical foods for patients with intractable epilepsy and low-protein foods for patients with kidney and liver diseases. Cambrooke uses original ingredients to develop its products, which Cambrooke plans to roll out beyond the United States and Europe. The company has achieved a growth rate exceeding 20% annually for the past three years.
“Ajinomoto’s corporate motto of ‘Eat Well, Live Well’ is an elegant statement that directly reflects Cambrooke’s mission of improving lives via providing the most delicious and most nutritious medical foods for people with chronic health conditions," said Howard Lossing, president and chief executive officer of Cambrooke. "In joining the Ajinomoto Group, our mission remains unchanged, our team remains in place and our ability to better meet the needs of our customers expands with access to the enormous R.&D. capabilities of Ajinomoto.”
Ajinomoto sells amino acids into the medical foods market as ingredients, and the Cambrooke acquisition will allow it to make a full-scale entry into that market, Ajinomoto said. The company aims to expand its share of the global market for medical foods for patients with amino acid metabolism disorders to 20%, with sales of approximately $90 million by 2027.
“By applying its scientific knowledge of amino acids’ nutritional and physiological functions, ‘deliciousness technologies’ and food application technologies to Cambrooke’s operations, Ajinomoto Co. will offer enhanced foods to patients with metabolic disorders,” Ajinomoto said. “In addition, by incorporating Cambrooke’s knowledge of the medical foods business into Ajinomoto Co.’s food-related businesses in Japan and overseas, including processed foods, health care foods and supplements, Ajinomoto Co. intends to expand its lineup of high-value-added health and nutrition-related products.”
Tatsuya Sato, president of Ajinomoto North America, said, “Ajinomoto is deeply dedicated to improving lives through high-quality, good tasting nutrition. We looked at many companies in recent years to help us grow in medical nutrition. The team at Cambrooke has been very successful in growing faster than other companies by better meeting the nutritional needs of the customers they serve. This success reflects a shared core value and led to our strong interest in Cambrooke joining the Ajinomoto Group.”
