OptiBiotix Health PLC (AIM:OPTI) is to become the exclusive distributor in Europe and Africa of a next-generation prebiotic that has a marked effect on the healthy growth of gut microbes such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.
It has signed the deal with Shandong Longlive Biotechnology for its xylooligosaccharide, which will be branded OptiXOS.
XOS is a fibre with unique characteristics that mean it is stable at high temperatures. This, combined with a low pH and small effective dose, means it has a lot of potential applications across the food and beverage industry and extends its reach beyond tablets and capsules.
It is stable in the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract which maximises its effectiveness when it reaches the gut, OptiBiotix said in a statement.
OptiXOS comes with an active pipeline of customer projects passed on by Longlive and is commercially available to customers with immediate effect, investors were told.
"The agreement with Longlive is another step for OptiBiotix on its path to in-license or acquire unique technologies to broaden its product portfolio and reinforce our role as leaders in the microbiome field,” said René Kamminga, chief executive of the UK company’s subsidiary, OptiBiotix Limited.