Baby Formula

Formed more than 17 years ago, Martek Biosciences Corp. finally caught the attention of American parents, who bought enough baby formula bolstered by the company's algae--derived nutritional supplement to give the company its first profit. Columbia-based Martek makes the nutritional oils, known as ARA and DHA, from microalgae that it says are important to infant brain and eyesight development. But until recently, the company sold most of its products only overseas. For the past six months, three licensees have been selling products with Martek's oils in the United States.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has approved a formula for premature babies that uses a blend of nutrients created by Columbia-based Martek Biosciences Corp. The formula, Enfamil Premature LIPIL, is made by Mead Johnson Nutritionals using two Martek nutrients that are the building blocks of a baby's eyes and brain. Analysts said yesterday that approval of the formula won't have an immediate effect on Martek's finances but that it could benefit the company later. "The premature market is so small that this won't have a significant impact on finances right now, but with the strength of these ingredients, I would expect to see it in all formulas in the future," said Scott Van Winkle, an analyst with Boston-based Adams, Harkness & Hill.

Martek Biosciences Corp., known for its algae-derived supplement for baby formula, said yesterday that it plans to pay up to $90 million in stock for a Colorado company that markets the same nutrient for use in foods and drinks consumed by adults. The Columbia company said the acquisition of privately held OmegaTech Inc. will ready it for a future in which the supplement, DHA, could be a standard added nutrient in everything from cheese to nutrition bars. The naturally occurring nutrient has been shown to aid infant eye and brain development, while an increasing number of studies by the National Institutes of Health, Martek and others show it also may boost the health of adults.

Shares of Martek Biosciences Corp. soared 25 percent yesterday on news that two major manufacturers will soon start selling infant formula with its nutritional oils for the first time in the United States. The manufacturers control about 85 percent of the U.S. infant formula market, the Columbia company said. One of the makers, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, plans to have infant formula with Martek's nutritional oils on store shelves by next month. The other maker, Abbott Laboratories' Ross Products Division, has plans for a launch early in the year.

Wall Street analysts have been predicting for years that Martek Biosciences Corp. would crack open the U.S. market and turn a profit. Finally, it appears the Columbia-based maker of a nutritional supplement for baby formulas may be about to succeed. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, which already sells formula containing Martek's blend of nutritional oils in more than 60 overseas markets, is in discussions with the Food and Drug Administration about marketing the enriched formula in the United States, Wyeth spokeswoman Audrey Ashby said.

CHICAGO - In the baby food aisle at the Dominick's supermarket in Elmhurst, Ill., small signs offer an apology: "Due to high theft, all powder formula is located in the pharmacy. When the pharmacy is closed, please ask at the service desk." At superstores and grocery markets across the nation, shoplifters have been zeroing in on powdered baby formula, sometimes clearing shelves of dozens of cans at a time. The thefts are the latest sign of a surprising black market in the innocent yet expensive white powder that comes packed in cans.

Almost 30 years ago in the movie "Shaft," detective John Shaft made an impact on the fashion world with his turtleneck sweaters, leather jackets, bell-bottoms and Afro. Tough, sexy, suave, Shaft was, as the movie tagline went, "Hotter than Bond, Cooler than Bullitt." If you think Samuel L. Jackson looks as cool in this year's Shaft as Richard Roundtree did in the 1971 version of the movie, you've got Giorgio Armani to thank. Armani, Jackson's designer of choice for the role, reportedly told Jackson: "I'll design the clothes.

Carnation recalls baby formula bearing perilous instructionsCarnation Inc. has recalled a batch of baby formula that instructs parents not to dilute the concentrate with water when they are actually supposed to do just that. The product is Carnation Alsoy soy formula for infants, which can cause dehydration, diarrhea, cramping and vomiting if it's consumed undiluted.The mislabeled cans were distributed in Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. The 13-ounce cans have the following code on the bottom: 6150EWAC047.

Martek Biosciences Corp. said yesterday that it had reached a licensing deal with Sandoz Nutrition SA that will put the Columbia firm's baby formula additive into the formula the Swiss-based giant sells in Europe.Martek did not give a value of the deal, but said Sandoz is the sixth big formula manufacturer to agree to use Martek's Formulaid, a complex of fatty acids derived from microalgae that scientists believe speeds up brain development in infants.Chemical components of Formulaid are present naturally in breast milk but are not part of major commercial baby formulas.

Martek Biosciences Corp. of Columbia plans to offer 2 million shares of new stock to the public, the company said yesterday, announcing it has registered the proposed offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Based on yesterday's closing price of $14.50 a share, the offering would raise $29 million before investment banking commissions and other expenses. Martek went public in 1993 at $7 a share.Martek intends to use the proceeds from the offering to market and develop its consumer nutritional products, to pay for capital expenditures including potential expansion of the company's baby formula supplement factory, to fund clinical studies and trials of drugs and for general corporate purposes.