OptiBiotix Health PLC Scientific and commerical update (9723I)

TIDMOPTI

RNS Number : 9723I

OptiBiotix Health PLC

27 March 2018

OptiBiotix Health plc

("OptiBiotix" or the "Company")

Scientific and commercial update

OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes and skin care, provides the following scientific and commercial update on its technology and products. The Company is developing technology and products in the microbiome space, a market growing at 22.3% per year, and described by health experts as "healthcare's most promising and lucrative frontier" (Markets and Markets).

The Company is building value within each of its three divisions leveraging the uniqueness of its technology to commercialise food ingredients and products so that each division becomes profitable and self-sustainable. Per Rehne is leading the commercialisation of LP(LDL) (R), whilst Christina Wood is leading the commercialisation of SlimBiome(R). The overall aim is for divisions to become separate profitable legal entities which, if appropriate, may be taken to the public markets as a separate listing. The following sections provide a scientific and commercial update for each division.

OptiBiome(R) (SlimBiome(R), CardioBiome, ImmunoBiome, WellBiome(R) and PsychoBiome)

Christina Wood has made strong progress since commencing her role as Sales and Marketing Director in March 2017. Christina has been working with manufacturers, application developers, and retailers to expand the range of application opportunities. SlimBiome(R) has now been developed with a number of partners into breaded products, biscuits, dairy, gummies (children's products), muesli pots, porridge pots, healthy snacks such as yoghurt coated fruits, and a range of cereals in puff, flakes, and crisp format. As we formalise our relationship with partners for other applications we anticipate a growing deal pipeline.

This creates a wide range of revenue generating opportunities and the potential to either extend the GoFigure range of online products or create a 'health and wellbeing' own label brand for one of the major supermarkets. Late stage discussion are currently ongoing with three supermarkets.

The Company is extending its OptiBiome(R) range beyond weight management (SlimBiome(R)), to include cardiovascular health (CardioBiome(R)), immune health (ImmunoBiome(R)), cognitive health (PsychoBiome), and general health (WellBiome(R)) which will further extend the range of product opportunities.

LP(LDL) (R)

Per Rehne has been working with manufacturers, formulation and distribution partners to develop around 30 formulations of LP(LDL) (R) which have the science, cost structure, and synergistic mode of action to create a wide product range (consistent with our intel inside model). This approach allows OptiBiotix to present product solutions to consumer health, pharmaceutical and retail companies which give us multiple revenue streams from ingredient sales, white label and own branded products. Investors will have seen from recent RNS releases the evolution from small privatelyowned pharma companies, who are quicker to execute agreements, to larger deals with GBP100m plus revenue companies like Fine Foods and Gallenicum. This division has a broad deal pipeline and we anticipate announcing further deals in the forthcoming months both for LP(LDL) (R) and new application areas.

The science behind OptiBiotix's LP(LDL) (R) product won best scientific publication at ProBiota 2017 and 2018. These awards raise OptiBiotix's profile and reputation, attract commercial interest in our technology and products, and provide the scientific evidence for sales and marketing literature in support of product commercialisation.

Online Store

The company is building its product portfolio with partners and is developing an online store to create a shop window for its technologies and products. This will sell GoFigure products, the wider range of SlimBiome products, and LP(LDL) (R) formulations, creating an additional revenue stream and the opportunity for direct market feedback from its customers. We expect this transition to be completed by the end of April with new product offerings being added to the online store on an ongoing basis. This is all part of a gradual transition of OptiBiotix from a research and development company to a commercial business. The overall aim is to build revenues within each division to between GBP5m-GBP10m per annum over the forthcoming years.

OptiBiotics(R), Microbiome Modulators and SweetBiotix(R)

The Company has made significant progress in its scientific programmes to develop compounds which modify the human microbiome to prevent, manage and treat disease, and create natural high intensity sweeteners and sweet healthy fibres (SweetBiotix(R)). Given the international interest in the microbiome and natural alternatives to sugar, the Company has carried out a total of five successful human taste studies on its SweetBiotix(R) product development programmes.

These studies have created interest from a number of corporates with expertise in the manufacture and commercialisation of speciality ingredients and/or consumer products. In March 2018 the Company met up with teams of scientists and senior executives from each of these companies. It was clear from our meetings that OptiBiotix are global leaders in targeted microbiome modulation and sweet prebiotics/fibres.

We are pleased to report that every company has expressed strong interest in partnering or investing in OptiBiotix to access our technology. This high level of interest now needs to be turned into tangible deals which, subject to any corporate confidentiality clauses, we can disclose to the market. Investors should be cautioned that negotiations with large corporate partners is a two-way process which has to fit into a corporate process and timescale and are often subject to stringent confidentiality clauses. However, it's clear that OptiBiotix is in the right space (microbiome, sweet fibres), and has a structured approach to development appealing to corporate partners, allowing it to attract the high level of interest from these global brands.

Stephen O'Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, commented: "The Company believes it is making strong scientific and commercial progress across all its technology and product platforms. This has led to a number of deals with each division building a rich deal pipeline, which if successfully concluded, will lead to significant revenues in the months and years ahead. Industry interest is coming from national retailers and global corporates which have potential for significant upside given the scale of their market reach. We remain on track with our strategy of building multiple revenue streams from both consumer and pharmaceutical products across all our technology platforms."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

For further information, please contact:

 
 OptiBiotix Health plc                                                  www.optibiotix.com 
 Stephen O'Hara, Chief Executive                                               Contact via 
                                                                            Walbrook below 
 
 Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)                                        Tel: [phone] 
                                                                                      0880 
 Liam Murray 
 
 finnCap (Broker)                                                            Tel: [phone] 
                                                                                      0500 
 Adrian Hargrave / Scott Mathieson 
  / Kate Bannatyne (Corporate Finance) 
 Abigail Wayne (Corporate Broking) 
 
 Walbrook PR Ltd                          Tel: [phone] or [e-mail] 
 Anna Dunphy                                                                Mob: [phone] 
                                                                                       001 
 
 

About OptiBiotix - www.optibiotix.com

OptiBiotix was formed in March 2012 to develop compounds which modify the human microbiome - the collective genome of the microbes in the body - to prevent and manage human disease.

The aim of OptiBiotix is to discover and develop microbial strains, compounds and formulations, which modulate the human microbiome and can be used as food ingredients and supplements or active compounds for the prevention and management of human metabolic diseases, examples of which include obesity, cholesterol and lipid distribution and diabetes.

OptiBiotix has established a pipeline of microbiome modulators that can impact on lipid and cholesterol management, energy harvest and appetite suppression. The development pipeline is fuelled by its proprietary OptiScreen(R) and OptiBiotic(R) platform technologies designed to identify metabolic pathways and compounds that impact on human physiology and bring potential health benefits. These platforms are applicable across a wider range of other human diseases.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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March 27, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)