GLENVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Children's formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. said Monday it extended an agreement with Martek Biosciences to be a global supplier of ingredients in its children's formula.
Martek Biosciences will continue to supply ingredients to Mead Johnson through 2015, a four-year extension to the earliest date the contract could have ended.
Martek has been supplying ingredients Mead Johnson for use in infant formula under a 25-year global license agreement executed in 1992. The ingredients are fatty acids naturally found in breast milk that can help an infant develop and grow.
In 2006, Martek and Mead Johnson entered into a supply agreement that made Martek Mead Johnson's global sole-source supplier of the fatty acids for use in its infant formula products.
Under terms of the amended agreement, Martek will reduce prices to Mead Johnson over terms of the extension, beginning this year. Other details weren't disclosed.
Mead Johnson shares rose 36 cents to $54.75 in morning trading. Martek shares rose $1.34, or 6 percent, to $23.95 during midday trading. The stock has traded between $17.09 and $25.43 during the past year.