LPLDL® license agreement with Kappa Bioscience AS

OptiBiotix Health plc

("OptiBiotix" or the "Company")

LP_LDL® license agreement with Kappa Bioscience AS for vascular health product

OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, announces that its fully-owned subsidiary ProBiotix Health Ltd. ("ProBiotix"), has signed a license agreement with Kappa Bioscience AS ("Kappa") for the use of Lactobacillus plantarum LP_LDL® in a new application area within cardiovascular health. The agreement covers 27 countries, largely in Europe, but also includes Russia and Singapore.

The new vascular health product will combine ProBiotix's cholesterol and blood pressure-reducing probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum LP_LDL® ("LP_LDL® ") with Kappa's proprietary K2VITAL® which they market as the purest and most active form of vitamin K2. The product is being developed to improve vascular health and is another addition to a portfolio of cardiovascular health products (cholesterol reduction, hypertension reduction) containing LP_LDL®. ProBiotix's preferred development and production partner, Nutrilinea Srl. in Milan (Italy), will cover the costs of development and will be the manufacturer of the final product. Kappa and ProBiotix will commercialise the product leveraging their existing and new distribution networks.

Based in Norway, Kappa has developed a technology to manufacture vitamin K2 MK-7 (all-trans menaquinone-7) with the highest purity and bioavailability, allowing for more cost-effective and efficacious dosing. Marketed under the K2VITAL^®​ brand name through a global network of distributors K2VITAL® is amongst the most widely recognised brands of vitamin K2.

The product is being developed to optimise the complementary modes of action in both companies branded ingredients (LP_LDL® and K2VITAL®) to reduce a number of independent cardiovascular risk factors. Calcification of blood vessels reduces their elasticity leading to arterial hardening which in turn increases cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. LP_LDL® lowers cholesterol and blood pressure mitigating these predisposing factors whilst K2VITAL® keeps calcium in the bones and away from the blood vessels improving vascular health. The combination of both ingredients creates a product which has the potential to reduce a number of independent cardiovascular risk factors and improve cardiovascular health.

This agreement is a strategic step to include LP_LDL® in a wide range of cardiovascular health supplements, and in food, dairy, and beverage products across the world.  This builds brand recognition, enhancing brand value, and creates a demand by partners to include LP_LDL® as the functional ingredient in a wider range of products. 

Dr. Luis Gosalbez, Business Development Director of OptiBiotix, commented: "We are delighted to announce this deal with Kappa which will combine two clinically proven branded ingredients (LP_LDL® and K2VITAL®) into a unique formulation designed to reduce a number of independent cardiovascular risk factors. This broadens the use of LP_LDL® beyond cholesterol reduction and creates new market opportunities in the field of cardiovascular health.  The result is a new product for vascular health, a segment of cardiovascular care where very few products are currently available. This increases brand recognition and value in addition to creating a demand for LP_LDL® as an ingredient. This means we are able to derive revenue from both the sale of a wide range of cardiovascular health products containing LP_LDL®, as well as LP_LDL® ingredient sales."

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

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About OptiBiotix - www.optibiotix.com 

OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), which was formed in March 2012, brings science to the development of compounds which modify the human microbiome - the collective genome of the microbes in the body - in order to prevent and manage human disease and promote wellness.

OptiBiotix has an extensive R&D program working with leading academics in the development of microbial strains, compounds, and formulations which are used as active ingredients and supplements. More than twenty international food and healthcare supplement companies have signed agreements with OptiBiotix to incorporate their human microbiome modulators into a wide range of food products and drinks.

OptiBiotix is also developing its own range of consumer supplements and health products. The Company's current areas of focus include obesity, cardiovascular health, and diabetes.