Member Info for AquaeSulis01

Lord, I have never doubted SOH's commitment for the Company, he does have a lot of skin in the game and did add to his holdings at the market price of 10.13p back in Sept 2025, however, whilst his heart is in the right place his head hasn't always been. As for the options being an incentive, I seem to recall Ashman having options at 80p which did LTH's a fat lot of good at SBTX.

He hasn't committed anything from these options yet.

The old 8p options expired worthless.

He no longer has the right to buy shares at 8p.

2. He has been given new options — but at a higher price

He now has the right (from Dec 2025 onward) to buy shares at 16p.

And adding weight to Elric's China manufacturing post

"In a fast-paced region where work culture, digital connectivity, and social pressures collide, sleep has become more than just a health concern—it’s now a vital pillar of beauty and wellness. During a recent Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna session titled “Pillow Talk: Unlocking Opportunities in Asia’s Growing Wellness and Sleep Economy for Beauty Brands,” industry experts delved into why rest, relaxation, and holistic care are commanding the spotlight in Asian beauty markets.

Conceptualized by the Chinese Pulse and moderated by Charlie Gu (CEO of Jingzhi Media Group), the panel featured perspectives from Yumi Kim (Digital Marketer & Influencer Specialist), Dominique Petruzzi (Statista), Sophia Dumenil (The Chinese Pulse), Demi Shi (Douyin E-Commerce Global) and Linn Weilar (Orien Trade). Below are the key takeaways and insights shared on how brands can tap into this expanding “Sleeponomics.”"

https://jingzhi.news/business/beauty/sleep-meets-beauty-insights/

Lord, the multiple deals for slimbiome have not so far resulted in long lasting and increasing volumes being sold to a point where the Company has moved to profitability, however, whilst there is some read across to the proposed sweetbiotix strategy, on the face of it sweetbiotix is a much more distinctive ingredient and end product in the case of a granulated sugar replacement with a much broader appeal than an ingredient buried within a slimming shake say, that may or may not make a perceived difference to the end user. The issue of trying to launch without the financial muscle of a big Partner is more akin to the Axisbiotix-ps launch; great product but without a mass marketing budget, remains a best kept secret to the majority of the target population, hence the importance of a launch supported by the US Partner and DSM/Firmenich however far away that may or may not be.

Letitrun, if I could name the big players planning to launch, I would be an insider. What i can tell you is zenakine works as I have been using the Scandia Cosmetic's Morpheus face serum for several weeks now, my sleep has improved and expression lines softened; hopefully you'll get the same confidence booster once you try sweetbiotix for yourself. Regarding the £7M, this will include pre-launch quarters in 2024 in addition to post launch. Croda operate across 94 locations in 39 countries, maintaining a significant local presence. In other words they sell to a lot of mid and small company distributors and formulators across the world

Thanks FS for asking the question. So if I am reading the response right, Investors will be able to take part in a taste testing session as a precursor to pursuing regulatory approvals which may or may not include the requirement for Novel Food clearance etc once all pre-commercial steps have been concluded. Look forward to having the opportunity to try the sugar substitute version of sweetbiotix.

Regarding the partners, do I sense from the Q&A response provided to Adnan on 04th May "i, we are looking to follow an approach similar to what we have used for SlimBiome with a number of manufacturers in different territories. They will produce product for branded partners who could be confectionary producers, cereal producers, and beverage producers., and ourselves own label product. This reduces dependence on a single manufacturer and/or distributor. " that Opti are looking to go it alone in terms of a launch rather than solely rely of DSM/Firmenich and the USA partner; certainly reads that way?

For info, the question of novel food approval came up as a result of looking into an India Company patent published on the US-Patent database on 05/05/26 involving an enzyme, alternansucrase, you could take orally alongside sugar beverages etc which would convert the sugar into indigestible fibres within the human body, which was flagged whilst I was searching against Coca Cola on the Basic search even though they are not involved in any shape or form with the patent.

Whilst Coca Cola could adopt this technology, and it fits directly into their long term strategic pressure to reduce sugar without sacrificing taste, the regulatory path is non trivial: alternansucrase would need GRAS approval in the U.S., Novel Food authorization in the EU, and safety validation for use as an orally consumed enzyme, not just a processing aid. The biggest hurdle is that this patent requires the enzyme to be ingested by the consumer, which places it in a stricter regulatory category than enzymes used during manufacturing.

The real commercial appeal

Coca Cola could sell:

• “Full sugar taste, reduced sugar impact”

• “Metabolic friendly Coke”

• “Sugar with fibre conversion inside your gut”

Without touching the beverage formula.

This is exactly the kind of “adjacent innovation” Coca Cola likes — external to the core product, but beneficial to the consumer experience.

2. But would Coca Cola want to adopt it?

The strategic tension

Coca Cola’s biggest risk is consumer perception:

• Adding an enzyme to a drink could trigger “biotech in my soda” fears.

• Selling the enzyme as a separate capsule avoids this problem.

• But then Coca Cola becomes a nutraceutical company, which is a different regulatory and brand space.

3. Regulatory hurdles (the real barrier)

This is where things get serious. Alternansucrase is not currently approved for oral consumption as a dietary ingredient.

A. United States (FDA)

1. GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) – for ingestion

Most enzymes used in food manufacturing are GRAS as processing aids, meaning they are not consumed.

This patent requires the enzyme to be swallowed by the consumer, which triggers a different regulatory category:

• GRAS for direct addition to food

• or New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notification if sold as a supplement.

So, could Coca Cola adopt it?

Yes — but only if:

1. The enzyme is approved as a dietary ingredient (GRAS or NDI).

2. Coca Cola positions it as a separate supplement, not added to the drink.

3. They avoid regulatory classification as a drug (which would kill the idea).

4. They run human clinical trials showing reduced glycemic response.

Letitrun, regarding your comment "Matrixyl has been around for decades, Zenkanine could get to that but won’t be anytime soon. Do you know how many products the ingredient would need to be in to generate £700k? Will take many years to build to that level." the figure was actually £769K, a rather unusual total to be "made up" and it would take £7.69M ingredient sales to generate it based on double digit royalties. Whether that possible or probable depends on when take-up started (we have been told it has been with the bigger clients for a year or two pre-launch) but as you will quite rightly say we can't believe anything we have been told historically in the current situation, but what we can believe is information from Croda themselves in their own end of year accounts for 2025 when they state " We have ramped up the development of new ingredients

with sales increasing by 10% at constant currency.

Launches included:

• Zenakine, an active which enhances skin’s resistance

to physical and emotional stress, thereby reducing skin

fatigue and premature ageing, with customer launches

in Europe and Asia

• Kerabio K31, a patented biomimetic bond builder for

hair repair, a market which is growing 9% a year. We are

first-to-market with a multi-customer ingredient that

enables brands to compete with market leaders, which

has been sampled by 500 customers since its launch in

March 2025"

So the £769K figure may well prove to be correct with the issue being one of timing i.e. no royalties paid until a Major launches perhaps triggering cash release?

I should add, hopefully it was applied for a long time ago and approval is imminent, hopefully your question will be answered in the affirmative

Letitrun, as you are fairly convinced sweetbiotix products will be available for Investors to sample in H1 (approx 8 weeks away) you may care to ask SOH via Q&As how this will be achieved without Novel Food Approval?

SweetBiotix cannot legally be launched in the UK without Novel Food approval, unless OptiBiotix can prove it falls under an existing pre 1997 food category (which it does not). SweetBiotix is a new to market, enzymatically modified oligosaccharide, and that places it squarely within the UK Novel Foods regime.

UK regulatory position after Brexit

The UK now operates its own Novel Food framework, but it is functionally identical to the EU system.

A food ingredient requires Novel Food authorisation if:

• it was not consumed to a significant degree before May 1997, and

• it is produced by a novel process, or

• it is a newly developed carbohydrate structure, or

• it has no history of safe use in the UK.

SweetBiotix meets all of these triggers.

Why SweetBiotix is automatically a Novel Food

A. It is a new, engineered oligosaccharide

SweetBiotix is created via a patented enzymatic process that produces:

• novel sweet fibres

• with no pre 1997 consumption history

• and no existing regulatory classification

That alone makes it a Novel Food.

B. It is not equivalent to existing fibres

OptiBiotix positions SweetBiotix as:

• “a new class of sweet fibres”

• “novel oligosaccharides”

• “produced using proprietary enzymatic technology”

This means it cannot piggyback on existing approvals for:

• inulin

• FOS

• GOS

• resistant dextrin

The structure, sweetness profile, and production method are all novel.

C. It is intended for mainstream food use

Any ingredient intended for:

• beverages

• dairy

• bakery

• confectionery

…must be authorised before being placed on the UK market.

What OptiBiotix can do before Novel Food approval

They can:

• run pilot manufacturing

• supply samples to partners

• conduct sensory testing

• run pre clinical and clinical studies

• negotiate licensing deals

They cannot:

• sell SweetBiotix in UK retail

• include it in food or drink products

• market it as a sweetener or fibre ingredient

until Novel Food approval is granted.

Expected timeline

A UK Novel Food application typically takes:

• 12–18 months for validation + risk assessment

• 6–12 months for authorisation

So 18–30 months total from submission.

OptiBiotix has not publicly announced a submission, meaning commercial UK launch is not imminent.

Probably overthinking things FS. This time last year the placing and warrants were issued to ensure the audited accounts could be published without any cash concerns being flagged. This year the option to place was taken out of his hands, PBX shares are illiquid and so the prior unannounced sale of 1,400,000 sbtx shares together with this latest off the books arrangement was the only option available. If SOH had any inkling or suspicion things would go pear shaped he would have sold the lot.

9p it is fat fingers on the calc

Yes my bad, fat finger on the calc oh well

Someone paid 11.11p if you do the maths

Desperate times call for desperate measures; can't sell PBX shares as illiquid, shareholders voted against authorising raising funds through the market but at least he got 11.11p per share from someone confident the SBTX sp will go up rapidly when it comes out of suspension

Supplied courtesy of Elric who obtained it through Polish friends with family still living in Poland. Have been using Scandia Cosmetics Morpheus night face serum

I wouldn't say I am happy that this suspension has gone on so long for what I believe will prove to be an over the top investigation, but am on my second lot of zenakine, am sleeping better than I have in years and generally feeling more chilled. The stuff works, is making a difference to Croda's accounts and hence accumulating royalties must surely be triggered sooner rather than later; I trust the investigation will at least shed light on that after all this time.

Skid, agree they need a partner for scaling long term sales of sweetbiotix but this was about demonstrating a range of SweetBiotix products to investors in H1 2026, I presume from their own lab scale manufacturing capability. I take a spoonful of sugar in my tea and coffee, dislike the taste of artificial sweeteners, and hence would welcome sampling a sugar substitute version of sweetbiotix for myself and if i am unable to denote any off notes in my beverages, that would go along way to satisfy me about the quality of the product and likelihood of take-up by a Partner

Lord, I have said previously that I sold at a loss around the 12p mark, however, I recognise the potential value of sweetbiotix and wont hesitate to buy back in if I feel the time is right, hence why I post and exchange opinions and views with others like yourself to gauge when that time might be.

Regarding the small launch of sweetbiotix for Investors to sample, I genuinely can't see what partner restrictions there could be for an own store launch of a sucrose based product, Opti own the patents and nothing, other than funding surely prevents such a venture with a number of small companies offering private label assistance such as BTS

https://www.bio-techsolutions.com/private-label-service/

You seriously believe cash from past raises have been earmarked for sweetbiotix?