Listed life sciences firm moves into the red as commercialisation transition continues
Life sciences business OptiBiotix Health has moved into the red during a period in which the firm continued its transition from a research and development company to a commercial business.
The York-based company this morning reported pre-tax losses of £1.1m for the six months to 31 May – a drop from last year reporting pre-tax profits of £3.3m for the same period. This dip in profits also includes the group’s majority share of the SkinBioTherapeutics loss of £209,229 for the same period .
The firm’s revenue, however, rose to £80,560, up from £74,868 reported for the same period in 2017.
OptiBiotix said that during the first half of the year it had secured a number of international sharing and distribution agreements. It said that the last six months had seen the continued transition of OptiBiotix from a research and development company to a commercial business, with seven agreements covering the USA, Asia, and Europe, and a deal with a global dairy brand.
In May, the firm raised £1.5m in a share placing to capitalise on growth opportunities following growing commercial interest in a number of its products.
Stephen O’Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, said: “We have seen a number of Board changes which reflect the continuing transition of the Company into a commercial business and have signed seven new agreements covering the USA, Asia, and Europe.
“As these and the total of nineteen deals we have signed since March 2017 translate into an increasing range of products and territories across the world there is an opportunity to deliver significant revenue growth.
“We have been particularly pleased with the increased interest from pharmaceutical companies in developing LPLDL as a drug product called a biotherapeutic, which creates the possibility of high, value deals in a number of territories in the future.
“Our online store is now ready for launch and we plan to go live with it in September 2018. This will create another channel to market our products, with the potential to become a division in its own right.”
Founded in 2012, OptiBiotix develops compounds to tackle obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes.
O Hara added: “We believe growing industry interest in microbiome products with strong science, independent clinical studies, and key opinion leader endorsement, will continue to help convert the high interest in our products into growing revenue streams from license deals and supply agreements in the months and years ahead.”
