Sweet deal for life sciences business
Life sciences business, OptiBiotix which has been developing compound t tackle obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes has entered into an agreement to commercialise a number of its SweetBiotix products.
The York-based businesses granted a US company an exclusive worldwide license in return for it bearing the costs of brining the product to market including manufacturing, marketing and all future commercialisation costs.
The business will receive what the announcement describes as a “modest six-figure payment” from the US firm when it signs the agreement and at annual intervals until the product is launched. Following the launch similar payments will be required as well as royalties on all future product sales.
In addition to this 11 partners which Optibiotix has been in long term discussion with about using its SweetBiotix products in dairy, cereal and beverage applications will also feature enhanced royalty payments.
Stephen O’Hara, CEO and founder of OptiBiotix, said: “We are pleased to announce this agreement for SweetBiotix, a family of products based on the concept of creating a sweet fibre with a low glycaemic index which enhances the microbiome. The agreement allows the US Company to invest in the large scale manufacture and commercialisation of a number of SweetBiotix® products in return for upfront, annual and product launch milestone payments, plus royalties on all future product sales.
“With concerns over the amount of sugar and lack of fibre in consumer diets creating high levels of diabetes and obesity, this agreement brings closer the prospect of replacing ‘unhealthy’ sugars with healthy sweet fibres which contain no calories and improving microbiome diversity and the benefits of SweetBiotix® technology to a global audience.”
