Probiotic firm hopes for great things from new strain
A probiotic strain developed over several years by an Australian biotech group has shown good results in early trials, its owner says.
Biome Australia has licensed a number of probiotic strains for use in its pills sold under its name in pharmacies across the country.
But the listed biotech company also owns the intellectual property rights to BMB 18, a proprietary strain of L. plantarum, a probiotic widely used for weight loss and improving gut and oral health.
The first Petri dish testing showed “certainly one of the strongest results we’ve seen in mechanistic data on immune support on inflammation,” founder and chief executive Blair Vega Norfolk said at an investor briefing on Friday.
A 240-participant clinical trial evaluating BMB 18 began in May at La Trobe University in Melbourne and Harokopio University in Athens, with the aim of generating initial data on the strain’s effectiveness in humans.
“We hope to show really significant p-values and results on gut health and also mental health within the next 12 months,” Mr Norfolk said.
Our hope is that Biome Australia will be able to add BMB 18 as a “hero” to some of its existing probiotic strains that sell well, thereby further protecting its intellectual property and brand.
“It will also create a very unique opportunity for us to develop new products in areas where we have no competition,” Mr. Norfolk said.
This strain can also be licensed to some of the world’s leading probiotic manufacturers.
Biome Australia has a low-single-digit share of Australia’s $600 million probiotic market, with sales of $12.4 million in the first half.
The company says its brands are the leading probiotics in community pharmacies and number 2 in the Terry White Chemmart chain.
Last financial year, Biome Australia achieved its first net profit of $214,656.
