Atrium Biotechnologies Inc., a subsidiary of Æterna Laboratories Inc. announced the acquisition of 100 per cent of all issued and outstanding shares of Siricie S.A. for $2 million cash. Based in Paris, this profitable company is focused mainly in the development and marketing of active ingredients drawn from marine life for the cosmetics industry. In 2002, Siricie generated revenues of more than $2.5 million.

"This acquisition, our fourth over the last two years, essentially allows us to offer a dozen additional novel active ingredients to our customers and reinforce our relationships with them," said Luc Dupont, CEO and vice chairman of the Board at Atrium. "During the past few years, we have managed to further expand the marketing network for all our products at the international level and position Atrium as a leader in its field. The acquisition of Siricie is part of the second stage of our growth strategy which aims at enhancing our portfolio of novel products in order to broaden our offer to customers."

Founded in 1992, Siricie has two divisions. The Lanatech division has a portfolio of products and active ingredients drawn on marine life, geared towards the cosmetics industry. The Iris division specializes in quality control and consumer reports for the cosmetics field. It has activities in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Atrium develops and markets active ingredients and speciality fine chemicals for the cosmetics, chemical, pharmaceutical and nutritional industries. Æterna Laboratories is a biopharmaceutical company with an extensive portfolio of marketed and development-stage products in oncology, endocrinology and infectious diseases.