18 November 2016
Provexis plc
By-Health Co., Ltd research and development collaboration with DSM for Fruitflow®
Provexis plc ("Provexis" or the "Company"), the business that develops, licenses and sells the proprietary, scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food ingredient, is pleased to announce that the Company's Alliance partner for Fruitflow®, DSM Nutritional Products ("DSM"), has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement for Fruitflow® with BY-HEALTH Co., Ltd ("BY-HEALTH"), a substantial listed Chinese dietary supplement business.
The strategic collaboration agreement between DSM and BY-HEALTH will focus on the development of new products that contribute to cardiovascular health, to include the establishment of relevant evaluation and testing procedures to accord with Chinese technical and regulatory standards.
The development process will target the creation of new products for people who are at risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly to include those over 40 years of age. There are already more than 230m people in China who are thought to have cardiovascular disease, and a significant increase in cardiovascular events is expected in China over the course of the next decade based on population aging and growth alone.¹ The Company believes that Fruitflow® has the potential to play an import role in primary prevention in the Chinese market.
The collaboration agreement was signed at the Guangzhou International Symposium on Nutrition and Health, which had the theme 'Nutrition and Chronic Diseases: New Development, New Challenges'. The Company's lead scientist Dr Niamh O'Kennedy, who played a key role in the development of Fruitflow®, gave a presentation to the Guangzhou International Symposium concerning the cardiovascular benefits of Fruitflow®. The Company will provide scientific and technical support for Fruitflow® to DSM and BY-HEALTH throughout the collaboration.
About Fruitflow®
Fruitflow® is a patented, scientifically-proven tomato extract which inhibits platelet aggregation, a known cause of heart attack, stroke and venous thrombosis. It is a natural product classified as a food which is easy to digest.
In May 2009 Fruitflow® was the first technology to be substantiated by the European Food Safety Authority ('EFSA') under the new Article 13(5) for proprietary and emerging science. In December 2009 the European Commission authorised the health claim 'Helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow'.
In 8 human trials, consumption of Fruitflow® has been proven to maintain healthy platelet aggregation and improve blood flow. In the largest single study for Fruitflow®, positive effects were observed in 97% of individuals tested. This compares favourably with single-drug therapies such as aspirin which can be ineffective in up to 30% of individuals; further, there are no recorded side effects from Fruitflow®.
On 7 September 2016 the Company announced in its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2016 that more than 50 regional consumer healthcare brands containing Fruitflow® have now been launched by direct customers of DSM, with a number of further regional brands having been launched through DSM's distributor channels.
In June 2016 the Company announced the launch of its new Fruitflow® + Omega-3 dietary supplement product, which is exclusively available through the Company's new e-commerce website www.fruitflowplus.com, the product also has a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FruitflowPlus
About BY-HEALTH
BY-HEALTH Co., Ltd. ("BY-HEALTH") was established in October 1995. In 2002 BY-HEALTH began to supply dietary supplements to the Chinese indirect sales market. BY-HEALTH has an extensive product portfolio and offers protein, vitamin, minerals, natural extracts and many other dietary supplement products. BY-HEALTH was the first company to win an AAA credit rating in the Chinese healthcare industry. In December 2010, BY-HEALTH (stock code: 300146) went public on the ChiNext, GEM board in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and the business is currently valued in excess of £2bn. Learn more about BY-HEALTH and its products at www.by-health.com.
¹ World Health Organisation - Cardiovascular diseases, China
Dawson Buck, Chairman of Provexis, commented:
"We are delighted to announce this strategic collaboration agreement between DSM and BY-HEALTH for Fruitflow®. The Company will provide scientific and technical support for Fruitflow® to DSM and BY-HEALTH throughout the collaboration.
The collaboration will focus on the development of new products that contribute to cardiovascular health in China, seeking to address the large and growing issue of cardiovascular health in this substantial market.
The collaboration with BY-HEALTH is another strongly positive development for Fruitflow® and the Provexis business."
This announcement contains inside information.
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For further information please contact:
Provexis plc Tel: 07490 391888
Dawson Buck, Chairman [email protected]
Ian Ford, Finance Director
Cenkos Securities plc Tel: 020 7397 8900
Bobbie Hilliam
Notes for editors
About Provexis plc
AIM-listed Provexis is focused on the development and licensing of its proprietary, scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food ingredient.
In May 2009, the Company's Fruitflow® technology was the first to be substantiated by the European Food Safety Authority ("EFSA") under the new Article 13(5) for proprietary and emerging science. In December 2009 the European Commission authorised the health claim "Helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow", which was the first wording to be authorised under Article 13(5).
In June 2010 it was announced that the Company had entered into a long-term Alliance Agreement with DSM Nutritional Products to commercialise Fruitflow®, and in June 2015 the Company confirmed it had agreed significantly enhanced financial terms for its Alliance Agreement with DSM for Fruitflow®.
The Company's Alliance partner DSM Nutritional Products has developed the market actively for the Company's novel, patented Fruitflow® heart-health ingredient in all global markets, with over 50 regional consumer healthcare brands now having been launched by direct customers of DSM, and with a number of further regional brands having been launched through DSM's distributor channels.
An increasing number of further commercial projects have been initiated by DSM with prospective customers, including some prospective customers which are part of global businesses, with good prospects for these projects to be launched as consumer products. Interest in the technology exists in all major global markets.
In June 2016 the Company launched a high quality dietary supplement product containing Fruitflow® and Omega-3 which is being sold initially from a separate, dedicated website www.fruitflowplus.com on a mail order basis.
The Company conducted a Key Opinion Leaders' roundtable event for Fruitflow® in London on 29 September 2016, focussed on raising awareness of the importance of blood flow in cardiovascular health, and the effectiveness of dietary antiplatelets. The roundtable was attended by key scientists from Provexis and DSM, along with a number of interested health care professionals with close links to the media. The event was recorded with the intention of producing two further videos: a video for Fruitflow® targeting prospective trade customers, and a video for Fruitflow® + Omega-3 capsules targeting prospective consumers. The video for consumers can be seen here www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3HCSdyupEY&t=48s
Video content recorded at the event and subsequently will be used to promote Fruitflow® and the Company's Fruitflow® + Omega-3 capsules more widely across key digital and other mainstream media channels.
The Company and DSM are keen to secure greater medical advocacy for Fruitflow® and the roundtable event forms part of this strategy. The roundtable event is also being supported by a broader consumer PR campaign.
The Company is engaged in a two stage collaboration agreement with the University of Oslo ('the University') to undertake further research into the relationship between Fruitflow® and blood pressure regulation. The Company is very pleased with the encouraging results from the first stage of the collaboration with strong evidence that a standard dose of Fruitflow® has the potential to give a clinically relevant reduction in systolic blood pressure. The Company and the University expect to be able to complete a small clinical trial by way of a proof of principle study in Q4 2016 and the results of the proof of principle study will be announced as soon as possible thereafter.
Provexis was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Reading, Berkshire.
Provexis shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PXS.
For further information, please visit www.provexis.com
