OptiBiotix Health (LON:OPTI), which is developing ingredients to tackle obesity, cholesterol and diabetes, has filed three new patents protecting its technology as it develops its proprietary OptiBiotic platform.
It brings the total patents of the AIM group to nine, it told investors.
Stephen O'Hara, OptiBiotix chief executive, told investors that the new patents protected the recent advances the group has made in developing novel sugars with the potential to act as calorie free sweeteners and modulate the human microbiome to prevent, manage, and treat disease.
"We understand the discovery of a sugar from Propionibacterium species is the first report to our knowledge and adds to our 'toolbox' of approaches to manage weight gain.
"We believe these patents will make a significant contribution to building a successful and sustainable business for our customers and shareholders," he said.
Recent findings include the identification of a oligosaccharide which enhances the growth rate of Lactobacillus plantarum - the species used in OptiBiotix's cholesterol product and gives the potential to accentuate growth of this strain and enhance product performance.
Shares added 4.10% to 41.25p.