OptiBiotix Health Share News (OPTI)

LONDON (Alliance News) - OptiBiotix Health PLC Thursday posted a widened pretax loss for its first half, as a result of higher administrative costs related to operating as a publicly listed company, and continued to work on progressing its development programmes towards commercialisation.

OptiBiotix is focused on developing compounds that modify the human microbiome - the collective genome of microbes in the body - such as good ingredients and supplements.

The life sciences business posted a pretax loss of GBP514,424 for the half year to end-May, widened from a pretax loss of GBP57,643 a year before, as a result of higher administrative costs. OptiBiotix did not produce revenue in either period.

The company said it has a cholesterol product in human studies to establish its safety, consumer compliance and its cholesterol lowering potential. It expects to report on this study in September.

During the first half the company added to its existing intellectual property portfolio and filed four new patents. Additionally it created a joint venture with Nizo Food Research to develop, manufacture and distribute weight management yoghurts.

"I am delighted with the progress OptiBiotix has made since joining AIM in August 2014," said Chief Executive Officer Stephen O'Hara in a statement. "In a short space of time we have moved one of our development programmes into clinical studies, progressed our sugar programme designed to create low calorie, sweet oligosaccharides to reduce chronic lifestyle disease such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes, built on our IP portfolio, and reached agreements with a number of commercial partners."

Shares in OptiBiotix were up 4.2% at 39.60 pence Thursday morning.

By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.