The chief executive of OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI) has hailed the past six months as an “exciting period of growth” for the life sciences group.
AIM-quoted Opti has been striking manufacturing and distribution deals around the world as it looks to commercialise its cholesterol and blood pressure-reducing LPLDL strain, SlimBiome hunger-free weight management system and low-calorie sugar alternative SweetBiotix.
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During the six months ended May 30, the company signed seven new agreements which will see its compounds made and sold in the UK, Europe, USA and Asia. In total, Opti has signed 19 deals since March 2017.
OptiBiotix has also made strides with its management, bringing on board food industry veteran and former Express Dairies and Arla Foods chief executive Neil Davidson as its new non-executive chairman at the end of 2017.
“The last six months has been an exciting period of growth and development for us,” said chief executive Stephen O’Hara.
“As the 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.”
He added: “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.”
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Revenue inched up to £80,600 in the first half, up from £74,900 a year earlier, although Opti swung to a pre-tax loss of £1.19mln (H1 17: profit of £3.12mln). Last year’s figures were skewed by a revaluation of its investment in SkinBioTherapeutics PLC (LON:SKIN).
Costs were broadly the same at £1.02mln (H1 17: £1.02mln). At the end of the period, Opti had cash reserves of £1.80mln which is “sufficient to cover the delivery of existing development and commercial plans”.