Last checked at 1 Dec 2014 07:00
1 December 2014
Provexis plc
Re-appointment of Professor Asim Duttaroy to the Scientific Advisory Board
Provexis plc ('Provexis' or the 'Company'), the business that develops and licenses the proprietary, scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food ingredient, is pleased to announce the re-appointment of Professor Asim Duttaroy to the Company's Scientific Advisory Board.
Professor Duttaroy was the original inventor of Fruitflow® and he previously served on the Company's Scientific Advisory Board from 2003 to 2011.
Professor Duttaroy is a globally recognised expert in the field of nutrition studies; he is currently Group Leader of Chronic Disease at the University of Oslo's Faculty of Medicine, and on 5 November 2014 he was appointed as editor in chief of the international peer reviewed journal Food & Nutrition Research.
The Company's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is now composed of Professor Asim Duttaroy, the inventor of Fruitflow®, and Dr Niamh O'Kennedy, a research chemist specialising in the field of natural products chemistry. Dr O'Kennedy played a key role in the development of Fruitflow® and the health claim for Fruitflow® which was adopted by the European Food Safety Authority ('EFSA'). The Company's agreements with SAB members include certain confidentiality, non-compete, IP assignment and first right of view provisions.
On 18 November 2014 the Company announced it had signed a collaboration agreement with the University of Oslo to undertake further research into the relationship between Fruitflow® and blood pressure regulation, with collaboration work to be led by Professor Duttaroy and Dr O'Kennedy. The company is ideally positioned to develop technologies designed to extend the existing 'healthy blood flow' product claims of Fruitflow®, on a carefully managed and costed basis, with the collaboration expected to be an important step in maximising the opportunities available to commercialise the product.
The Company also announced on 18 November 2014 that Professor Duttaroy and Dr O'Kennedy had been granted certain new options over Ordinary Shares under the Provexis 2005 share option scheme, which the Company believes will closely align their interests with those of shareholders.
Dawson Buck, Chairman of Provexis, commented:
"We are delighted that Professor Duttaroy has re-joined the Scientific Advisory Board, further strengthening his longstanding relationship with the Company and its key heart-health functional food ingredient, Fruitflow.
We believe that Professor Duttaroy will play an important role in maximising the opportunities available to commercialise Fruitflow, to the benefit of shareholder value."
- ends -
For further information please contact:
Provexis plc Tel: 07917 670260
Dawson Buck, Chairman enquiries@provexis.com
Ian Ford, Finance Director
Cenkos Securities plc Tel: 020 7397 8900
Bobbie Hilliam