DSM Invests in Fruitflow Developer

Netherlands-based DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing unit of Royal DSM N.V., has acquired an equity stake of 29.3% in Provexis plc, becoming the company’s largest shareholder. Provexis develops and licenses ingredients for the functional food, medical food and dietary supplement markets. Its leading product is Fruitflow, a bioactive, patented extract from tomatoes that improves blood flow, which is important to maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. Krijn Rietveld, Senior Vice President New Business Development at DSM Nutritional Products, has been appointed non-executive director of the company. The investment seems consistent with DSM’s strategy of focusing on cardiovascular and digestive health ingredients for the functional food and dietary supplement markets.