Life sciences firm secures US manufacturing deal

Life sciences business OptiBiotix has agreed a deal which will see its weight management product manufactured in the US. 

The York-based listed business has secured a manufacturing, supply and distribution agreement with Agropur, granting an exclusive license to manufacture, supply and distribute its weight management technology in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Founded in 1938, Agropur is a North American dairy industry leader with 8,800 employees and sales of $6.7bn in 2018. Agropur processes more than 6.2bn litres of milk per year at its 39 plants across North America. SlimBiome, OptiBiotix’s weight management product, will be supplied by Agropur’s Customs Solutions Group as a specialised functional ingredient.

Optibiotix said it was a strategic step by OptiBiotix to de-risk its supply chain and extend the market reach by adding manufacturing in North America. The firm added: “This will extend the commercial opportunity for its patented award winning weight management product into the US weight management market which is estimated to be worth $72bn in 2019.

“Partnering with an established player with an extensive reach to companies using high value functional ingredients into their food applications will allow end users to reduce transport and tariff costs while shortening lead-times and granting them access to Agropur’s expert advice and capabilities to create value.”

Dr. Fred Narbel, Managing Director of OptiBiotix’s prebiotics division, said: ” We believe working with Agropur, and similar partners around the world, provides the best opportunity of increasing our global commercial reach and catering to the growing interest we are seeing in SlimBiome® from partners worldwide.”

Mike Homewood, VP of Agropur’s Custom Solutions Group added: “The collaboration with OptiBiotix Health is well-aligned with Agropur’s goal to bring innovation to our customers. The manufacturing and supply of SlimBiome® is a natural fit within our model of solution-focused ingredients for the food, beverage and nutrition industries. We look forward to collaborating with OptiBiotix Health in the North American market.”

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