22 March 2016
OptiBiotix Health plc
("OptiBiotix" or the Company")
Second Contract signed with Instituto de Química Orgánica General, Spain
Development of SweetBiotix® (Sweet prebiotics)
OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, high
cholesterol and diabetes, announces that further to the announcement made 9 July 2015 it has signed a second agreement with the IQOG (Instituto de Química Orgánica General) of the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) in Madrid.
The agreement extends OptiBiotix development programmes creating sweet healthy oligosaccharides (carbohydrates that consists of a small number of sugars):-
i. The first research programme which started in September 2015, is designed to create sweet low calorie sugars using different bacterial strains.
ii. This second program incorporates natural sweeteners into existing or new oligosaccharide chains with the potential to create sweet products with functional health benefits.
This agreement is in line with the Company's plans to use funds from the November 2015 placing to create a new SweetBiotix® platform and enhances its capability to create sweet, calorie free sugars, as healthy alternatives to existing products. This increases the number of oligosaccharides under development with sugars from both programmes being subjected to human studies (taste, texture, after-taste) throughout 2016 with the most promising candidates progressing to commercialisation. OptiBiotix has trademarked this new sweet prebiotic concept as a SweetBiotix®.
Stephen O'Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, commented: "OptiBiotix's sugar development programs have the potential to address a key requirement in the food industry, addressing international concerns over the impact of sugar on obesity, highlighted by the recent announcement of a UK sugar tax. If successful, this research creates the prospect of replacing 'unhealthy' sugars in existing products with non digestible, low calorie, healthy, SweetBiotix®. As the food industry responds to growing public and political concerns over traditional sugars and artificial sweeteners, we expect growing interest in safer, healthy alternatives such as our SweetBiotix®."
For further information, please contact:
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 |
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Avi Robinson |
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Hybridan LLP (Joint Broker) |
Tel: 020 3764 2341 |
Claire Louise Noyce |
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Peterhouse Corporate Finance Ltd (Joint Broker) |
Tel: 020 7469 0936 |
Lucy Williams |
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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 |
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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 diseases, examples of which include obesity, cholesterol and lipid distribution, diabetes, and skin health.
OptiBiotix has established a pipeline of microbiome modulators that can impact on lipid and cholesterol management, energy harvest, appetite suppression, and skin health. 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
About IQOG
The Instituto de Química Orgánica General, (IQOG) is part of the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) based in Madrid. The IQOG is an international renowned centre in synthesis, analysis, and the study of the biological behaviour of organic compounds in humans.
