9 July 2015
OptiBiotix Health plc
("OptiBiotix" or the Company")
Contract signed with Instituto de Química Orgánica General
OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, high
cholesterol and diabetes, announces that it has signed an agreement with the Instituto de Química Orgánica General ("IQOG") of the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) based in Madrid. The IQOG is an international renowned centre in the synthesis, analysis, and the study of the biological behaviour of organic compounds in humans.
This agreement will enable OptiBiotix to progress its pipeline of novel oligosaccharides (carbohydrates that consists of a small number of sugars) identified by its OptBiotic® technology platform to testing in human studies.
The oligosaccharides have been selected on the basis of the novelty, levels of production, and their potential to manipulate the human microbiome. This supports the focus on OptiBiotix's target market areas in metabolic health, including applications in managing high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes. The work on scale up, purification, and testing will include strains from international commercial partners subject to finalisation of commercial terms.
The agreement with IQOG contracts them to:-
· Scale up the pipeline of novel oligosaccharides identified by the OptiBiotic® technology platform
· Purify the novel oligosaccharides to the desired level (>85%) for laboratory testing
· Analyse the oligosaccharides for their organoleptic (taste, texture, aftertaste) properties
· Assess the oligosaccharides for their microbiome modulating properties
This work is the final stage of the laboratory programme to identify calorie-free oligosaccharides with the potential to selectively enhance the growth rate of specific microbial strains and species to modulate the human microbiome to prevent, manage, and treat disease. Oligosaccharides showing commercial potential will commence human studies in 2016.
Stephen O'Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, commented: "The last few months have seen substantial progress in reducing the technical risks associated with this exciting programme designed to create low calorie, sweet oligosaccharides, which could be used to reduce chronic lifestyle disease such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes. If successful, this work creates the opportunity to replace 'unhealthy' sugars in many food products with oligosaccharides which can improve health, and herald a new paradigm in the food industry. We are particularly pleased that international commercial partners have recognised the opportunity presented by this work and are including their own strains in the final stages of this development programme."
OptiBiotix Health plc |
www.optibiotix.com |
Stephen O'Hara, Chief Executive |
Contact via Walbrook below |
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Cairn Financial Advisers LLP |
Tel: 020 7148 7900 |
Liam Murray / Avi Robinson |
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Hybridan LLP (Joint Broker) Claire Louise Noyce |
Tel: 020 3764 2341 |
Peterhouse Corporate Finance Ltd (Joint Broker) |
Tel: 020 7469 0936 |
Lucy Williams / Duncan Vasey |
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Walbrook PR Ltd |
Tel: 020 7933 8780 or [email protected] |
Anna Dunphy |
Mob: 07876 741 001 |
Mike Wort |
Mob: 07900 608 002 |
About OptiBiotix Health PLC - 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® and OptiBiotic® 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.
