OptiBiotix (LON:OPTI) have told shareholders that they have signed a licensing deal with Granja Pocha SA on Wednesday.
The firm said that the deal will allow the the LPLDL probiotic added to a yoghurt project in Uruguay. The probiotic strain is a development product from OptiBiotix, and has uses to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure.
The strain will be included in fermented milk products in Uruguay. Additionally, there is an inclusion of “a functional yoghurt”.
Functional foods include foods which have had probiotic bacteria or vitamins added to them, are becoming a hit in markets where health foods have never been so in demand.
Steve Prescott, CEO of ProBiotix, commented:
“We are pleased to announce this agreement with Granja Pocha, which will expand LPLDL®’s presence into South America and extends its use into dairy products. Granja Pocha was chosen as our partner to create a functional yogurt containing LPLDL® because of their technical expertise in dairy, track record of successfully launching new products, and extensive knowledge of the local market. The work carried out by Granja Pocha is a significant milestone as it extends the use of LPLDL® into functional foods, in this case dairy, which may be replicated in other territories. Functional foods like this yogurt containing ProBiotix’s LPLDL® provide a unique format for customer to receive the cholesterol reducing benefits of LPLDL® and capitalises on a growing industry trend towards functional foods.”
OptiBiotix expand into the Philippines
In December, the firm announced that it had reached agreements for a production distribution in the Philippines.
OptiBiotix said that it has signed an exclusive deal for distribution of probiotic supplement ‘CholBiome x3’ in the Philippines.
The deal was signed between OptiBiotix subsidiary ProBiotix Health Ltd and CTC Group unit CTC Far East Philippines Inc. CTC Group itself is the global business network group of Koen Visser Corp.
The deal’s exclusivity is subject to minimum order quantities, as well as a multi-year business plan aimed at improving OptiBiotix’s security in terms of income and revenue growth.
The expansion into both Uruguay and the Philippines is impressive from OptiBiotix, and will show shareholders that there is an active effort to diversify their markets.
Shares in OptiBiotix trade at 61p (-2.08%). 12/2/20 13:12BST.