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OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes and skincare, announces that it has completed a third human study on SlimBiome®. 

The study followed recommended industry guidelines and was designed to investigate the impact of a single dose of SlimBiome® in the presence of 50g sugar (12 teaspoons) on 20 healthy volunteers on their glycaemic response, hunger, and cravings. Blood samples were obtained at 0 (fasting), 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120 and 150min post intervention intake.  Feelings of hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and amount of food desired were assessed at 0, 75 and 150min using the visual analogue scale, a questionnaire used in nutrition research to assess appetite and food intake. 

The results showed that when compared to sugar alone, volunteers taking SlimBiome® experienced significant changes to important appetite and hunger regulation parameters including:- 

• a statistically significant reduction (15.4%) in the insulin response (p=0.02)
• statistically significant reduced feelings of hunger compared to sugar (p=0.038)
• statistically significant greater feelings of fullness compared to sugar (p=0.021)
• trend for lower desire to eat compared to sugar. 

No safety, compliance, or tolerance issues were reported by volunteers. The results of this study provide further evidence of the ability of a single dose of SlimBiome® to moderate the impact of the ingestion of a large amount of sugar by reducing the insulin response.  A reduced insulin response has been correlated with increased satiety or fullness.  The results from the visual analogue questionnaire supported this correlation with volunteers taking SlimBiome® showing significant reductions in hunger, increased fullness, and a reduced desire to eat.  The results are consistent with consumer feedback and customer product reviews who report feeling less hungry leading to reduced snacking and lower food intake leading to an average weight loss of 1.2kg per week. 

These findings show SlimBiome® can have a role as a functional ingredient by itself as in SlimBiome Medical®, in meal replacements as in GoFigure®, or as part of a healthy snack in controlling hunger and desire to eat as part of a calorie controlled diet.

Stephen O’Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, commented: “The recent approval of the injectable drug semaglutide by NICE has generated pharmaceutical and consumer interest in products which can have an impact on weight management by helping users reduce hunger and food cravings with sales forecast to reach $3.69bn by 2025¹. This recent study on SlimBiome® is one of three independent human studies which all show an ability to reduce hunger and food cravings leading to a reduction in food intake and weight loss. This effect is similar to that attributed to semaglutide, albeit by a different mechanism, and opens up opportunities for pharma companies looking to market similar non-invasive OTC products.

“This new approach to weight loss, given greater prominence by approval of drugs like semaglutide, suggest that hunger free dieting is now a consumer choice and that the use of SlimBiome® by itself or its incorporation into food or snack products can help customers manage weight loss by reducing food intake without hunger and food cravings.” 

¹ Novo Nordisk eyes obesity sales of $3.7bn in 2025 thanks to Wegovy | pharmaphorum

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