A deal done by a Danish company may have ramifications closer to home.
Followers of AIM-listed OptiBiotix Health plc (LON:OPTI) will have had more than a weather eye on Chr. Hansen’s £62mln takeover of a private firm called Valio.
According to William Lynne, analyst at small-cap boutique Hybridan, Hansen was looking to get its hands on a strain of bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.
“The direct read-through to Optibiotix is very significant,” says the Hybridan stock picker.
“It gives a further indication of the kind of value that might be realised for a single strain when you can build up the right evidence base and show commercial traction.”
We’ve heard a great deal about the potential health benefits of so-called good bacteria.
OptiBiotix and others are taking a scientific approach to this new and emerging healthcare field, which focuses on human microbiome found in the gut and on the skin.
Opti is looking to use the science to tackle time-bomb problems related to obesity.
And it is sitting on a potential treasure chest, if you will, of good bacteria, Hybridan’s Lynne points out.
“The LGG strain is a well-established and well documented strain, but arguably does not have the potential health benefits of Optibiotix’s LP LDL across the large number of application areas it is developing,” the analyst said.
“[It is] worth also remembering that Optibiotix has a portfolio covering covering 44 patents across 14 families, eight strain registrations and seven trademarks.”
The company last updated the market a week ago on the success of functional foods using its technology.
Dieters using the GoFigure product range reported that they lost weight as well as eating and snacking less.
Opti’s boss Stephen O'Hara said the results supported the science behind the company’s Slimbiome formulation, which is the basis of the GoFigure products.
“This new approach to weight loss contrasts with many competitor products which lack strong scientific rationale and typically rely on customers' self-control to restrict calories and as a consequence have a high failure rate,” he added.
“These results show that the incorporation of SlimBiome into food products helps customers to manage their weight loss by reducing food intake without food cravings.
“Hunger free dieting is now a consumer option and we hope to see a wider range of products containing this unique formulation to support consumer choice."
The shares, up almost 60% over the last year, marked time at 71p.