RNS & Investor News

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

01 July 2019

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 LPLDL® 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 LPLDL® ("LPLDL® ") with Kappa's proprietary K2VITAL® which they market as the purest and most active form ofvitamin 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 LPLDL®. 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 (LPLDL® 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. LPLDL® 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 LPLDL® 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 LPLDL® 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 (LPLDL® and K2VITAL®) into a unique formulation designed to reduce a number of independent cardiovascular risk factors. This broadens the use of LPLDL® 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 LPLDL® as an ingredient. This means we are able to derive revenue from both the sale of a wide range of cardiovascular health products containing LPLDL®, as well as LPLDL® ingredient sales."

 

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

 

For further information, please contact:

OptiBiotix Health Plc
Stephen O'Hara, Chief Executive
www.optibiotix.com
Contact via Walbrook below
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD) Tel: 020 7213 0880
Liam Murray / Jo Turner / Ludovico Lazzaretti
finnCap (Broker) Tel: 020 7220 0500
Geoff Nash / Kate Bannatyne (Corporate Finance)
Camille Gochez (Corporate Broking)
goetzpartners securities Limited Tel: 020 3897 6663
Brigitte de Lima
Walbrook PR Ltd
Anna Dunphy
Tel: 020 7933 8780 or [email protected]
Mob: 07876 741 001

 

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.