| June 24, 2002 - Hong Kong
- CK Life Sciences Int'l., (Holdings) Inc. ("CKLS") announced
that its invention arm, CK Biotech Laboratory Ltd ("CK Biotech
Lab"), has successfully developed 15 bioremediation products,
of which 3 have been granted patents by the US and Trademark
Office. The 3 patented product applications are algae suppression;
nitrogen removal; and environmental toxin degradation. These
bioremediation patent approvals mark another milestone for
the Group's R&D achievement. To date, CK Biotech Lab, the
wholly-owned subsidiary of CKLS, has developed a total of
25 eco-fertilizers and bioremediation product applications
under the trade names of "NutriSmartTM" and "WonderTreatTM"
respectively. They are all at different stages of patent applications.
Patent Portfolio for Eco-Fertilizers and Bioremediation
Product Applications
| |
Eco-Fertilizer |
Bioremediation |
|
Total |
| Patent Granted |
0 |
3 |
|
3 |
| Patent Approved - Notice of Allowance
Received |
2 |
2 |
|
4 |
| Patent Pending |
4 |
3 |
|
7 |
| Drafting Stage |
4 |
7 |
|
11 |
| Total |
10 |
15 |
|
25 |
Patents are granted upon strict conditions. Approval of patents
for CKLS products demonstrates CK Biotech Lab's R&D
capability and strength. To qualify for patent approval, the
following requirements must be met:
| (1) |
Novelty,
ie the invention must be new. |
| (2) |
Inventive
step, ie a patent will only be granted for an invention
which involves an "incentive step" or, in other words,
is "non-obvious" to a person skilled in the relevant art |
| (3) |
Industrial
applicability/ utility, those that have industrial applicability
or utility |
| |
|
|
CKLS' Patent
Strategy
As all of CKLS' products are new inventions, the Group
is determined to protect the knowledge and techniques
that have been applied to develop the Group's products.
It is CKLS' strategy that all of the Group's products
will go through the rigorous assessment processes required
by patent authorities in the US and other countries around
the world. In addition to the sales and marketing benefits
attached to intellectual property, these patents will
give value assurance to the Group.
Huge Market
Potential for Bioremediation Products
With these successfully developed product applications
and several patents approved, CKLS is now formally introducing
into the worldwide market its series of bioremediation
product applications, WonderTreatTM. According
to Environmental Business International, Inc., a research,
consulting and publishing firm for the environmental industry
based in the United States, the global wastewater treatment
market is estimated to be over US$200 billion. The water
equipment and chemicals segment alone is estimated to
be US$47 billion in 2002. As the market is expanding and
bioremediation is gaining wider acceptance as a viable
treatment technology, there is considerable development
potential for bioremediation products.
Unique Features of WonderTreatTM
WonderTreatTM is composed of a host of yeast
strains. Without any gene recombination or gene transfer,
these yeast strains have been processed by CKLS to remove
nitrogen, phosphorus and odours; degrade environmental
toxins and polymeric compounds; and suppress algae and
pathogen growth. These yeast strains are able to break
down and convert pollutants into safe, non-toxic materials.
WonderTreatTM is multi-functional and is capable
of treating different kinds of pollution or contamination.
For example:
(1) Municipal Wastewater
WonderTreatTM can be used in combination with
existing treatment facilities and increase the efficiency
of sewage treatment plants. As less energy is required
during application, WonderTreatTM can increase
the operational efficiency, save energy and system operational
cost, effectively reduce system management and maintenance
costs, and avoid extra investment in equipment modification
and infrastructure construction.
(2) Contaminated Surface Water
Lakes, reservoirs, rivers and seas are subject to contamination
caused by agricultural, industrial and urban waste. These
environmental hazards can cause the proliferation of micro-organisms,
oversupply of nutrients, and the uncontrolled growth of
algae. Excessive amounts of algae will lead to "red tide"
and deprive fish and other aquatic organisms of oxygen,
disturbing the balance of ecosystem. WonderTreatTM provides
a natural way to suppress the growth of harmful algae
and pathogenic organisms, improving water quality effectively.
(3) Industrial Wastewater
WonderTreatTM can be used to treat different
types of industrial wastewater, including those from wineries,
sugar refineries, food processing plants, mono-sodium
glutamate manufacturing plants and paper mills. These
industries currently use chemical and biological treatment
methods. WonderTreatTM is more efficient than
existing biological solutions and will not lead to secondary
pollution, as in the case of chemical solutions.
(4) Solid Waste
Excrement of animals is a headache for many farm owners
and is hazardous to the environment. WonderTreatTM
can be used to deodorize, detoxify and remove or suppress
the growth of pathogens in solid waste, helping to solve
this environmental problem.
Solid waste treated by WonderTreatTM can be
recycled for use as raw materials; one such example is
the recycling of animal waste as raw materials for the
manufacturing of NutriSmartTM, CKLS' eco-fertilizer.
This recycling feature will bring about cost savings related
to the disposal and treatment of solid waste.
Synergy Between WonderTreatTM and NutriSmartTM
There is strong synergy between WonderTreatTM
and NutriSmartTM, CKLS' eco-fertilizer. Not
only can solid waste treated by WonderTreatTM
be used as raw materials for NutriSmartTM,
WonderTreatTM complements perfectly with NutriSmartTM
in that the former is an effective solution to treat polluted
water, while the latter is an effective product to prevent
water pollution at source as it does not contain the soluble
substances of chemical fertilizers and so, will not cause
nutrient leaching. As in the case of the Great Barrier
Reef and the Murray Darling River in Australia, which
are contaminated by the run-off of chemical fertilizers,
WonderTreatTM can be used to treat the polluted
water, and NutriSmartTM can be applied in farming
to prevent further pollution from occurring, thus providing
a long-term, sustainable solution to the environmental
problem of nutrient leaching. The combination of WonderTreatTM
and NutriSmartTM treats the symptom as well
as the cause of environmental pollution.
Competitive
Advantages of WonderTreatTM
There are three common kinds of environmental remediation
practice: |
| (i) |
Physical method - by
means of waste separation and precipitation |
| (ii) |
Chemical solution -
utilizing chemicals to decompose and agglutinate pollutants |
| (iii) |
Biological solution -
utilizing micro-organisms to decompose pollutants |
WonderTreatTM
is a biological solution which makes use of yeast
strains to treat polluted water. This would prevent secondary
pollution, which is often the side effect of chemical
solutions, from taking place. As each pollution problem
is caused by different factors, and each body of water
has different characteristics, WonderTreatTM
will be prescribed as custom-made solutions rather than
ready-made formulae. The Group's consultants will test
and analyse the polluted water first and then devise a
tailor-made application to tackle the pollutants specifically.
Laboratory tests and field trials of WonderTreatTM have
been conducted in Hong Kong and Mainland China, and the
results have been satisfactory. Field trials are being
planned for Australia, US and Canada currently.
"In addition to NutriSmartTM, WonderTreatTM is another
of CKLS' product applications that contribute significantly
to environmental sustainability. More environmental products
will be introduced to the market by the Group in the near
future," stated Mr H L Kam, President and CEO of
CKLS.
"We are excited about these 3 patent approvals for
our bioremediation applications. This is a strong testimony
of originality and uniqueness of our products. WonderTreatTM's
benefit lies in the fact that specially treated yeast
is used as the treatment solution. Applied to large scale
water and waste treatment facilities, WonderTreatTM is
not only effective, but is more convenient, environmentally
friendly and lower in cost compared with chemical or other
biological solutions. We have confidence that WonderTreatTM
can bring about a new approach to bioremediation, contributing
greatly to improving our environment and quality of our
lives, " added Mr Kam.
CK Life Sciences Int'l., (Holdings) Inc. is engaged
in the business of research and development, commercialization,
marketing and sale of biotechnology products. The Group's
business areas cover two dimensions - human health
and environmental sustainability. Products developed by
CKLS are categorised into five areas - eco-agriculture,
bioremediation, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and dermatalogicals.
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