Investors

OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes and skin care, announces its three abstracts at the ProBiota 2019 event between 13-15 February 2019, at Scandic Copenhagen, Denmark.

ProBiota is the leading annual event for the global prebiotic, probiotic and the microbiome focused food and pharma industries. The conference is world renowned meeting place for a community of scientists and industry leaders who want to translate the latest science into new products in the growing supplements and ingredients market. The three abstracts presented were as follows: -

SweetBiotix®: Sweet fibres with a microbiome modulating effect

Optibiotix has a number of development programmes creating natural sweet fibres (SweetBiotix®) with the potential to meet the needs of both the natural high intensity sweetener and bulk sugar markets. These markets are collectively forecast to reach $112bn by 2022 (Mordor Intelligence, 2017). The abstract presented at ProBiota reported on human studies from an expert panel of 12 flavourists of its natural high intensity sweeteners. These showed high sweetness, reduced bitterness and reduced off-flavours when compared to natural sweeteners like Stevia. The products were then tested for their ability to modify microbiome composition and activity in healthy adults. The results showed significant increases in short-chain fatty acids ("SCFA"), the molecular messengers produced by bacteria when they ferment fibre and non-digestible carbohydrates. SCFA are widely known for their importance in gut health, immunity and affect how energy is metabolised in the body, and are one of the main ways in which the gut microbiome contributes to better health. Whilst previous studies (RNS: 23 January 2018) have demonstrated that these fibres have high sweetness and no aftertaste, this is the first study to demonstrate a positive effect on the microbiome. This creates a clear differentiator to other sweeteners on the market and an opportunity to replace unhealthy sugars with healthy fibres in a range of food and beverage products and as an ingredient in its own right. The results were well received and will be used by OptiBiotix as leverage in existing and future commercial discussions to optimise shareholder value.

Slimbiome®: Clinic Impact of SlimBiomeâ on satiety, satiation, weight loss and gut microbiome composition in overweight and obese women

This abstract presented the results of an independent clinical study carried out by the University of Roehampton which demonstrated that human volunteers taking SlimBiome® had statistically significant reductions in weight, BMI, hip circumference, percentage body fat, fat mass and systolic blood pressure (P<0.01) after four weeks of SlimBiomeâ intake. Significant reduction in cravings for savoury foods (P<0.001) and a trend for reduced sweet cravings were recorded from the end of week one of the treatment onwards, accompanied by a significant improvement in mood (P<0.01). Notable increases were observed in the relative abundance of Christensenellaceae, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. These are bacteria within the gut microbiome which other studies have associated with weight loss and leaner body types. This study adds further evidence to other clinical studies and consumer feedback which shows SlimBiomeâ has a significant impact on food cravings and hunger, leading to easier and more successful weight loss, typically 2-3lbs per week. The increase in bacteria within the gut associated with weight loss in people taking SlimBiome® is an exciting development and will be the subject of further studies.

Antimicrobial activity of Lactobacillius Plantarum LP_LDL®OptiBiotix presented research on the antimicrobial activity of L. plantarum LP_LDL® pregrown on different carbohydrates, against a selection of pathogens of clinical relevance. LP_LDL® has an established cholesterol reducing activity in normal to mildly hypercholesterolaemic (high cholesterol levels) adults. The studies, carried out by the University of Reading, showed LP_LDL® demonstrated antimicrobial activity against a wide range of clinically important clinical pathogens including those known to cause serious gastrointestinal infections around the world. These include Campylobacter, Shigella, Salmonella, E.coli O157, and significantly Clostridium difficile, the cause of serious hospital acquired infections. The results of this study suggest LP_LDL® may have additional biological activities which if proven in human studies, have the potential to widen LP_LDL®'s commercial opportunities to include gut health and the prevention of traveller's diarrhoea. This will help support the use of LP_LDL® in a wide range of food, dairy, supplement and biopharmaceutical products. This research gives an early indication as to LP_LDL®'s potential to extend its existing use as a supplement into a wide range of consumer food and healthcare products.

Commenting, Stephen O'Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix said: "We were pleased with the high amount of scientific and commercial interest in our presentations at ProBiota which demonstrated the breadth of our scientific development. These studies, and the publications and presentations from them presented at internationally renowned events, are part of a strategy of developing microbiome products with a strong scientific and clinical evidence base with key opinion leader support. This provides clear product differentiation which can be translated into evidenced based product consumer claims. This attracts commercial interest in our technology and products leading to a healthy deal pipeline. As we continue to build the science around existing products and platforms and identify new application opportunities; the scale of the opportunity, and the potential value of OptiBiotix, increases."

About OptiBiotix - 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.