Full Press Release Details
| News Release | Contact: Bruce Russell |
| 310-559-4955 x101 | |
| brussell@cyanotech.com |
Announces Strategic Shift to Marketing-Oriented Business Model,
Search for New President and CEO to Lead Effort
Founder Gerald R. Cysewski, Ph.D. to Become Chief Scientific Officer,
on Microalgae Product Development
(November 13, 2007) Cyanotech
Corporation (Nasdaq Capital Market: CYAN), a world leader in producing
high-value nutrition and health products from microalgae, announced that its
Board of Directors has adopted a strategic shift in the company s business
model from its traditional focus on the processing and distribution of
microalgae products to a marketing-oriented approach seeking to derive more
value from its leading products, natural Astaxanthin and spirulina.
transition, the company s founder, Gerald R. Cysewski, Ph.D., age 58, has
agreed to stand down from his positions as chairman, president and chief
executive officer to become chief scientific officer, focusing on developing
new microalgae products for Cyanotech.
The Board of Directors has
retained the executive search firm of Heidrick & Struggles to manage the
search for the new chief executive officer.
Gerry will help in the
company s effort to recruit a person with extensive marketing experience, said
Gregg Robertson, lead independent director of Cyanotech. The company is the world s largest producer
of natural Astaxanthin for human consumption, a product with growing demand
worldwide, and a major producer of high-quality spirulina, and we intend to
capitalize on this leadership for the benefit of our shareholders.
I have been engaged in
growing and managing microalgae production for Cyanotech since 1983 when we
first set up operations in Kona, said Dr. Cysewski. I look forward to getting back into the lab
full-time to pursue my goal of enhancing yields and discovering and
commercializing new microalgae products for our portfolio that will provide
important health benefits to our customers.
Dr. Cysewski is credited
with commercializing the large-scale production of microalgae. He began investigating the process four
decades ago while an assistant professor at UC Santa Barbara in the Department of
Chemical and Nuclear Engineering. Then
he began small-scale operations while working with the Battelle Institute in
Pasco, Washington, before choosing Kona, Hawaii as the perfect environment to
begin large-scale cultivation and processing of microalgae.
Although the precise plan
for moving Cyanotech to the marketing-driven model awaits the input of Dr.
Cysewski s successor, we are intent on moving in this new direction, noted Mr.
Queen Kaahumanu Highway, #102 ~ Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740
326-1353 fax (808) 329-3597 ~ www.cyanotech.com
Cyanotech Corporation, a world
leader in microalgae technology, produces BioAstin Natural Astaxanthin and
Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica all natural, functional nutrients that enhance human
health and nutrition. Cyanotech s spirulina, FDA reviewed and accepted as
Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use as a food ingredient, augments
energy and immune response. BioAstin s benefits derive from its superior
antioxidant activity and from its ability to support and maintain natural
inflammatory response, enhancing skin, muscle and joint health. NatuRose Natural Astaxanthin is a natural
pigment source that also promotes animal health and nutrition, primarily in
aquaculture. Phycobiliproteins are fluorescent pigments used in medical
diagnostic testing and research. Cyanotech produces these products from
microalgae grown at its 90-acre facility in Hawaii using patented and
proprietary technology and distributes them to nutritional supplement, nutraceutical,
cosmeceutical, and animal feed makers and marketers in more than 40 countries
worldwide. Cyanotech was the first microalgae company in the world to obtain
ISO 9001:2000. Visit www.cyanotech.com for more information.
Safe Harbor Statement under the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Except for statements of historical fact, the
statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from the statements made. These factors
include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, forecasts of
sales in future periods, changes in sales levels to our largest customers, weather
patterns, production problems caused by contamination, risks associated with
the acceptance of new products, competition, foreign exchange fluctuations,
government regulation, and other factors more fully detailed in the Company s
recent Form 10-Q and annual form 10-K filings with the Securities and Exchange