TIDMOPTI
RNS Number : 0641I
OptiBiotix Health PLC
25 August 2016
25 August 2016
OptiBiotix Health plc
("OptiBiotix" or the "Company")
Half Yearly Report
OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a Life Sciences business
developing compounds to tackle obesity, high cholesterol and
diabetes, announces its results for the six months ended 31 May
2016. OptiBiotix has made strong progress during this period in its
strategy of developing compounds which modify the human Microbiome
and commercialising these through partnering with food, health,
wellbeing and pharmaceutical companies.
Highlights
-- Successful placing to raise GBP1m from the placing of 1,282,051 new ordinary shares at 78p
-- A substantive increase in IP portfolio which now covers 44
patents across 14 families, 8 strain registrations, and 7
trademarks
-- Commercial agreement signed with KSF Acquisition UK Limited (brand owners of Slimfast)
-- Commercial agreement signed with DSM (the world's leading
supplier of nutritional ingredients)
-- Appointment of Professor Tim Spector to the Scientific Advisory Group
-- Acquisition of skin Microbiome intellectual property and
creation of a majority owned joint venture ('JV') called SkinBiotix
Limited with The University of Manchester
-- Second contract signed for the development of SweetBiotix(R)
-- Strong scientific progress across its platform technologies including:-
-- The development of Microbiome modulators which can increase
the growth rate and biological activity of specific microbial
species in the human Microbiome
-- The development of sweet natural healthy sugars
(SweetBiotix(R)) with safety and sweetness confirmed by human taste
studies
Post-period end highlights
-- New patent filing to protect combination ingredients to reduce cardiovascular risk factors
-- Successful launch and sales of Slimbiome(R) in GoFigure(R) shakes and bars
-- Appointment of Luis Gosalbez as Director of Business Development
-- First products on the shelves in Whole Foods Market Inc.
Stephen O'Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix commented: "OptiBiotix has
made significant progress in the last six months advancing our
development programmes, building our IP portfolio, and signing
commercial agreements with two multinationals. We are delighted to
have GoFigure products containing SlimBiome on the shelves in a
major retail chain with strong early sales and great customer
feedback suggesting a high likelihood of success. I would like to
thank our investors for their support, and look forward to an
exciting and rewarding rest of 2016."
OptiBiotix Health plc www.optibiotix.com
Stephen O'Hara, Chief Executive Contact via Walbrook below
Cairn Financial Advisers Tel: 020 7148 7900
LLP (Nomad)
Liam Murray
Hybridan LLP (Joint Broker) Tel: 020 3764 2341
Claire Louise Noyce
Peterhouse Corporate Finance Tel: 020 7469 0936
Ltd (Joint Broker)
Lucy Williams / Duncan
Vasey
Walbrook PR Ltd Tel: 020 7933 8780 or optibiotix@walbrookpr.com
Anna Dunphy Mob: 07876 741 001
Chairman's and Chief Executive Statement
We are pleased to present OptiBiotix Health plc's Half Yearly
report for the six month period ended 31 May 2016.
OptiBiotix has made strong progress during this period in its
strategy of developing compounds which modify the human Microbiome
and commercialising these through partnering with food, health,
wellbeing, and pharmaceutical companies.
Key achievements
During the period to date we have achieved a number of key
objectives which continue to build shareholder value. These
include:-
-- A fundraising in February 2016 which raised GBP1m from the
placing of 1,282,051 new ordinary shares at 78p to capitalise on
the growing number of opportunities arising in the Microbiome
space.
-- A substantive increase in our IP portfolio which now covers
44 patents across 14 families, 8 strain registrations, and 7
trademarks.
-- The completion of two commercial agreements with
multinationals, the first with KSF, owners of the Slimfast brand;
the second with DSM, the world's leading supplier of nutritional
ingredients.
-- The appointment of Tim Spector, author of the Diet Myth, to
our Scientific Advisory Group, opening up opportunities for new
collaborations and bringing an ability to communicate complex
scientific data to a wider public
-- Acquisition of the exclusive rights to intellectual property
developed by The University of Manchester in skin health, creating
a majority owned joint venture ('JV') called SkinBiotix Limited
-- The development of sweet calorie free natural healthy sugars
(SweetBiotix(R)) with safety and sweetness confirmed by human taste
studies
-- The development of OptiBiotics(R), sugars which can modulate
the growth rate and biological activity of specific strains in the
Microbiome accentuating their functional properties and health
benefits. This creates the opportunity for targeted modulation of
the Microbiome and has the potential to substantially increase the
Company's value
Results
OptiBiotix results for the six months ended 31 May 2016 are set
out in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income. It shows
a loss after tax for the period of GBP0.61 million. The loss after
tax and after adding back the non-cash items, amortisation charge
and share based payment expense was GBP0.55 million. Cashflow
remains tightly controlled with a focus on building shareholder
value through investment in R&D, IP, and in licensing
opportunities. The Group's cash position remains strong at GBP3.55
million which is sufficient to fund its existing research and
development programmes.
Board and Management
We believe that we have a well-balanced Board with a focus on
the domain expertise in the founder and Chief Executive Stephen
O'Hara, Commercial Director Jim Laird, Non-Executive Director Dr
Gareth Barker and Dr Sofia Kolida as Director of Research and
Development. This was supplemented in November 2015 with the
appointment of Peter Wennström, one of the world's leading experts
in functional food innovation and marketing, as a Non-Executive
Director. They have been complemented by the CFO Mark
Collingbourne, Adam Reynolds and David Evans as Chairman.
We anticipate further additions to the management team and the
Board, which will evolve in line with the continued growth and
development of the Company.
David Evans is stepping down from the Board as of today
reflecting a personal desire to reduce his overall number of
commitments. Adam Reynolds will assume the role of Chairman in the
interim. The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank
David Evans for his substantial effort, contribution and support
since the conception of the Company through to its admission to AIM
in July 2014.
Outlook
The last six months has seen increased research interest in the
Microbiome and a growing number of publications showing its
potential to prevent, manage, and treat human disease. With the US
Government announcing a $0.5bn Microbiome initiative in the spring
of 2016 we anticipate further discoveries, media interest, and
opportunities across a wider range of diseases including cancers,
autism, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease. This has led
to growth forecasts for the Human Microbiome Market of a CAGR of
22.3% (Markets and Markets) with commentators describing the
opportunities open to Microbiome companies as being in the region
of trillion dollars. Whilst accurate figures are not known, these
forecasts reflect industry sentiment on the scale of the
opportunity.
OptiBiotix has benefited from this interest in the Microbiome
with a number of industry features in the mainstream press. With a
growing portfolio of products reaching commercialisation in high
public interest areas we anticipate further industry coverage
throughout 2016.
OptiBiotix recognised the potential of the Microbiome and raised
additional funding in February 2016 to leverage its existing
technology platforms and extend its reach into other application
areas and capitalise on developing opportunities. This led to the
acquisition of intellectual property developed by The University of
Manchester in skin health, creating a majority owned joint venture
('JV') called SkinBiotix Limited. This is expected to create new
product opportunities in multi-billion dollar global markets
including Skincare ($121bn), Health Care Acquired Infections
($82bn), Eczema ($3.8bn), Psoriasis ($7.4bn), and Wound care
($18.3bn). The opportunity in this area was highlighted by Lord
O'Neill's report into Antimicrobial resistance in May 2016 which
identified the high human (50,000 lives) and financial ($1bn) costs
to health services annually. Since the creation of the JV with The
University of Manchester, SkinBiotix has identified and patented
microbial proteins which have the potential to prevent Health Care
Acquired Infections ("HCAI") caused by antimicrobial resistant
("AMR") superbugs such as MRSA. These proteins prevent skin damage,
stop pathogenic bacteria from growing, and prevent it from
reattaching, reducing the risk of reinfection with AMR superbugs.
OptiBiotix's Board see this as an exciting advance on existing
therapies and the skin Microbiome as a significant growth
opportunity.
The addition of skin Microbiome technology creates four
divisions each with its own technology platform and development
programmes designed to create commercial products with an
established scientific evidence base and proof of human efficacy.
As these divisions grow in substance and start making a significant
contribution to group earnings we will consider forming new legal
entities with the potential for a separate public listing. The
Board believe that shareholder value could be maximised by adopting
such a strategy whereby existing shareholders could, in the event
of a successful flotation, ultimately hold shares directly in
OptiBiotix and one or more of its divisions.
Development programmes
Our cholesterol product successfully completed human studies at
the end of 2015 demonstrating commercial potential as a safe, easy
to use, low cost cholesterol, and blood pressure reducing
supplement. These results create opportunities for a single product
for both conditions (high cholesterol and high blood pressure), or
two different products targeting separate conditions. Commercial
discussions and due diligence with potential partners across both
consumer and pharma have indicated a wider range of opportunities
than initially envisaged. These include:-
i. Combination products where the additional ingredient provides
performance or additional consumer benefits such as reducing
multiple cardiovascular risk factors in a single presentation
ii. The potential to improve statin efficacy potentially
allowing lower statin dosage, reducing cost, and limiting side
effects whilst improving statin compliance.
iii. The potential to reduce Clostridium dif cile infection by
the formation of secondary bile acids which inhibit the vegetative
growth of Clostridium
These discussions have increased the number of partnering
opportunities and commercial discussions which will allow
OptiBiotix to fully exploit the scale of the opportunity. We
anticipate reporting on these commercial discussions in the
forthcoming months.
OptiBiotix's sugar development platform has continued to
progress rapidly under the leadership of Dr Sofia Kolida and has
been extended to include:-
-- SweetBiotix(R) - sweet natural healthy sugars not digested in
the human gut and hence calorie free
-- OptiBiotics(R) - a combination of a targeted probiotic and
prebiotic which selectively enhances the in vivo growth of the
probiotic, accentuating its functional properties and health
benefits
Work to date has demonstrated our ability to synthesise sweet
calorie free natural healthy sugars (SweetBiotix(R) ) with safety
and sweetness confirmed by human taste studies.
Further work is ongoing to develop other sugars and to modify
existing structures to accentuate sweetness further. This is an
innovative concept which has the potential to address international
concerns over the impact of sugar on obesity, with the prospect of
replacing 'unhealthy' sugars in existing products with
non-digestible, low calorie, healthy SweetBiotix(R) . Having
demonstrated the synthesis and purification of SweetBiotix(R) we
are now actively engaging with commercial partners looking for
safer, healthy alternatives to existing products.
Our R&D teams have made rapid progress with the
OptiBiotic(R) concept directed at companies in the probiotics
functional food market who have benefited from the global trend for
fortified and functional foods, a market that is expected to be
worth in excess of $46.55bn by 2020 (Markets and Markets). Our
research has confirmed the ability of a targeted prebiotic to
enhance the numbers of a specific microbial strain, and most
important its biological activity related to a health benefit. To
our knowledge, this is the first time this effect has been
demonstrated and creates the opportunity for designer prebiotics
which can modulate targeted elements of the Microbiome. This is a
significant development and has the potential to substantially
increase the Company's value.
The aim of all these development programmes is to establish a
scientific evidence base for mechanism of action, proof of safety
and human efficacy, and low cost manufacturability. As products
move through the development process risk is reduced leading to
both an increase in value and greater interest from corporate
partners. In the last six months this has led to completion of two
commercial agreements with multinationals, the first with KSF,
owners of the Slimfast brand; the second with DSM, the world's
leading supplier of nutritional ingredients. These agreements bring
in short term revenue to cover development costs and create a route
to market for our products with established brand suppliers and the
potential to generate multiple future revenue streams. They often
involve extensive due diligence and their successful conclusion
demonstrates industry interest and confidence in OptiBiotix's
technology platforms. As our development programmes progress we
anticipate further commercial deals with global partners leading to
the development of new products creating multiple revenue streams
across all divisions.
In the last six months we have added substantially to our
existing IP portfolio which now covers 44 patents across 14
families, 8 strain registrations, and 7 trademarks. We anticipate
filing further patents and internationalising our IP portfolio
where we feel there is commercial value. We will continue to
explore opportunities to in-license or acquire new technologies or
IP to support our continued growth.
The Board believes OptiBiotix is at the leading edge of an
emerging market, forecast to become one of the world's fastest
growth areas. OptiBiotix has made good progress in the last six
months and now has a broad range of platforms with numerous product
and numerous partnering opportunities. This builds company value
and de-risks the Company as if one platform or product was
unsuccessful the Company would simply shift its focus to other
platforms and products.
The Board believes we are building a Microbiome business with
significant value for shareholders with a strategy which best
maximises the value in each division and a diversity of IP and
Commercial relationships which provides shareholders with multiple
opportunities.
On behalf of everyone at OptiBiotix Health plc we thank you for
your support and look forward to an exciting future.
D Evans and S O'Hara
25 August 2016
OptiBiotix Health plc
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the period to 31 May 2016
6 months 6 months Year to
to to 30 November
31 May 31 May 2015
2016 2015 Audited
Unaudited Unaudited
Continuing operations GBP GBP GBP
Revenue 88,252 - 28,200
Cost of sales - - -
-------------- -------------- --------------
Gross Profit 88,252 - 28,200
Administrative expenses (802,083) (514,431) (1,451,451)
-------------- -------------- --------------
Operating loss (713,831) (514,431) (1,423,251)
Finance income / (costs) 59 7 28
-------------- -------------- --------------
Loss before Income
tax (713,772) (514,424) (1,423,223)
Income tax 98,529 - 142,594
-------------- -------------- --------------
Loss for the period (615,243) (514,424) (1,280,629)
Other Comprehensive - - -
Income
-------------- -------------- --------------
Total comprehensive
income for the period (615,243) (514,424) (1,280,629)
Total comprehensive
income attributable
to the owners of the
company (615,243) (514,424) (1,280,629)
Loss per share 4
Basic & Diluted loss
per share - pence 0.796 0.708 1.75
OptiBiotix Health plc
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
For the period to 31 May 2016
Notes As at As at As at
31 May 31 May 30 November
2016 2015 2015
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
ASSETS GBP GBP GBP
Non-current assets
Intangibles 2,089,916 2,259,369 2,146,401
Property, plant &
equipment 2,012 2,472 2,012
-------------- -------------- --------------
2,091,928 2,261,841 2,148,413
-------------- -------------- --------------
CURRENT ASSETS
Trade and other receivables 304,331 28,596 62,597
Current tax asset 207,232 94,107 120,000
Cash and cash equivalents 3,556,264 2,470,577 2,040,888
-------------- -------------- --------------
4,067,827 2,593,280 2,223,485
-------------- -------------- --------------
TOTAL ASSETS 6,159,755 4,855,121 4,371,898
EQUITY
Shareholders' Equity
Called up share capital 6 7,192,455 7,100,284 7,117,315
Share premium 6,199,192 3,812,596 3,863,687
Share based payment
reserve 398,441 218,698 383,435
Non Controlling Interest 480 - -
Merger relief reserve 1,500,000 1,500,000 1,500,000
Accumulated deficit (9,662,885) (8,281,437) (9,047,642)
-------------- -------------- --------------
Total Equity 5,627,683 4,350,141 3,816,795
-------------- -------------- --------------
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 114,089 53,106 125,823
-------------- -------------- --------------
114,089 53,106 125,823
-------------- -------------- --------------
Non - current liabilities
Deferred tax liability 417,983 451,874 429,280
-------------- -------------- --------------
417,983 451,874 429,280
-------------- -------------- --------------
TOTAL LIABILITITES 532,072 504,980 555,103
-------------- -------------- --------------
TOTAL EQUITY AND
LIABILITIES 6,159,755 4,855,121 4,371,898
OptiBiotix Health Plc
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
For six month to 31 May 2016
Called Share Share-based Non Merger Accumulated Total
up premium Payment controlling Relief deficit Equity
Share reserve Interest Reserve
Capital
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
Balance
at 30
November
2014 7,078,346 3,746,781 90,970 - 1,500,000 (7,767,013) 4,649,084
Loss for
the period - - - - - (514,424) (514,424)
- 21,938 65,815 - - - - 87,753
Share
based
payment - - 127,728 - - - 127,728
------------ -------------- -------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ --------------
Balance
at 31
May 2015 7,100,284 3,812,596 218,698 - 1,500,000 (8,281,437) 4,350,141
Loss for
the period - - - - - (766,205) (766,205)
Exercise
of
warrants 17,031 51,091 - - - - 68,122
Grant
of share
options
and
warrants - - 164,737 - - - 164,737
------------ -------------- -------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ --------------
Balance
at 30
November
2015 7,117,315 3,863,687 383,435 - 1,500,000 (9,047,642) 3,816,795
Loss for
the period - - - - - (615,243) (615,243)
Issue
shares
during
the period 65,641 2,434,359 - - - - 2,500,000
Skinbiotix - - - 480 - - 480
Exercise
of
warrants 9,499 28,496 - - - - 37,995
Share
based
payment - - 15,006 - - - 15,006
Share
issue
expenses - (127,350) - - - - (127,350)
------------ -------------- -------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ --------------
Balance
at 31
May 2016 7,192,455 6,199,192 398,441 480 1,500,000 (9,662,885) 5,627,683
------------ -------------- -------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ --------------
OptiBiotix Health Plc
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
For the period to 31 May 2016
6 months 6 months Year to
to to 30 November
31 May 31 May 2015
2016 2015 Audited
Unaudited Unaudited
GBP GBP GBP
Reconciliation of
loss before income
tax to cash outflow
from operations
Operating loss (713,831) (565,284) (1,423,251)
(Increase)/decrease
in trade and other
receivables (241,734) (23,944) (57,946)
Decrease/(increase)
in trade and other
payables (11,730) (24,507) 48,210
Share Option expense 15,003 127,728 292,465
Depreciation - 347 808
Amortisation of patents 56,484 - 112,968
------------ ------------ ------------
Net cash outflow from
operations (895,808) (485,660) (1,026,746)
Interest received 59 7 28
------------ ------------ ------------
Net cash outflow from
operating activities (895,749) (485,653) (1,026,718)
Cash flows from investing
activities
Purchases of property,
plant and equipment - (1,965) (1,965)
Acquisition of subsidiary 480 - -
net of cash
------------ ------------ ------------
Net cash (outflow)/inflow
from investing activities 480 (1,965) (1,965)
------------ ------------ ------------
Cash flows from financing
activities
Share issues 2,410,645 87,753 155,875
------------ ------------ ------------
Net cash inflow from
financing activities 2,410,645 87,753 155,875
------------ ------------ ------------
Taxation - - 43,254
Increase/(decrease)
in cash and equivalents 1,515,376 (399,865) (829,554)
Cash and cash equivalents
at beginning of year 2,040,888 2,870,442 2,870,442
------------ ------------ ------------
Cash and cash equivalents
at end of year 3,556,264 2,470,577 2,040,888
OptiBiotix Health Plc
Notes to the Half Yearly Report
For the period to 31 May 2016
1. General Information
Optibiotix Health Plc is a company incorporated and domiciled in
England and Wales. The Company's offices are in York. The Company
is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker:
OPTI).
The financial information set out in this Half Yearly report
does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 434 of
the Companies Act 2006. The group's statutory financial statements
for the year ended 30 November 2015, prepared under International
Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), have been filed with the
Registrar of Companies. The auditor's report on those financial
statements was unqualified and did not contain statements under
Sections 498(2) and 498 (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
Copies of the annual statutory accounts and the Half Yearly
report can be found on the Company's website at
http://www.optibiotix.com.
2. Basis of preparation and significant accounting policies
This Half Yearly report has been prepared using the historical
cost convention, on a going concern basis and in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as adopted by
the European Union, using accounting policies which are consistent
with those set out in the financial statements for the year ended
30 November 2015.
New and amended standards adopted by the group
There are no IFRSs or IFRIC interpretations that are effective
for the first time in this financial period that would be expected
to have a material impact on the group.
3. Segmental Reporting
In the opinion of the directors, the group has one class of
business, being that of research and development. The group's
primary reporting format is determined by the geographical segment
according to the location of its establishments. There is currently
only one geographic reporting segment, which is the UK. All costs
are derived from the single segment.
4. Earnings per Share
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings
attributable shareholders by the weighted average number of
ordinary shares outstanding during the period.
Reconciliations are set out below:
6 Months 6 Months
to to Year to
31 May 31 May 30 November
2016 2015 2015
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Basic and diluted
EPS
Earnings attributable
to ordinary shareholders (615,243) (514,424) (1,280,629)
Weighted average
number of shares 77,261,548 72,684,379 73,167,562
Loss per-share -
pence 0.796p 0.708p 1.75p
Basic and diluted earnings per share are the same, since where a
loss is incurred the effect of outstanding share options and
warrants is considered anti-dilutive and is ignored for the purpose
of the loss per share calculation. As at 31 May 2016 there were
10,345,237 outstanding share options and 1,618,036 outstanding
share warrants.
5. Investments
On 17 March 2016 the group reduced its shareholding in its
subsidiary, SkinBiotix Limited, as a result of acquiring the
exclusive rights to intellectual property developed by The
University of Manchester in skin health and creating a majority
owned joint venture ('JV'). Under the terms of the agreement, the
group has invested GBP260,000 into the JV by subscribing for
ordinary shares and will own 52% of SkinBiotix Limited, with the
remaining 48% owned by the University of Manchester and key
researchers. The JV did not have any profits or losses for the
period.
6. Share Capital
Issued share capital compromises:
6 months 6 months Year to
to 31 to 31 30 November
May May 2015
2016 2015 Audited
Unaudited Unaudited
GBP GBP GBP
Ordinary shares
of 2p each
77,986,509 1,559,731 1,467,560 1,484,591
Deferred shares
of 19p each
26,001,739 4,940,330 4,940,330 4,940,330
Deferred shares
of .90p each
63,373,961 570,366 570,366 570,366
Deferred shares
of 0.09p each
135,587,293 122,028 122,028 122,028
-------------- -------------- --------------
7,192,455 7,100,284 7,117,315
During the six months to 31 May 2016 the Company issued ordinary
shares of GBP0.02 each listed, exercised at a price of GBP0.08 per
share in the capital of the Company following the exercise of
warrants:
Date issued Number
26/01/2016 125,000
12/02/2016 150,107
19/02/2016 65,500
26/02/2016 44,959
24/03/2016 5,000
20/04/2016 53,125
25/05/2016 31,250
--------------
474,941
On 4 December 2015 the Company issued and allotted 2,000,000
ordinary shares of GBP0.02 each respectively, exercised at a price
of GBP0.75 per share in the capital of the Company in a share
placing.
On 4 February 2016 the Company issued and allotted 1,282,051
ordinary shares of GBP0.02 each respectively, exercised at a price
of GBP0.78 per share in the capital of the Company in a share
placing.
7. Post balance sheet events
On 30 June 2016 the Company issued and allotted 29,975 ordinary
shares of 2 pence each exercised at a price of 8 pence per share in
the capital of the Company following the exercise of warrants.
On 26 July 2016 OptiBiotix completed an investment to acquire
51% of The Healthy Weight Loss Company, and see this as a platform
to incubate new technological solutions and develop wider product
applications in weight management. Under the terms of the
agreement, the group has invested GBP75,000 into the Joint Venture
by subscribing for ordinary shares and will own 51% of The Healthy
weight Loss company, with the remaining 49% owned by the founding
members.
On 12 August 2016 the Company issued and allotted 100,000
ordinary shares of 2 pence each exercised at a price of 8 pence per
share in the capital of the Company following the exercise of
warrants.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IR SEUFILFMSESA
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 25, 2016 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)