Provexis enters collaboration agreement with China's By-Health
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Provexis, which develops the ‘Fruitflow’ heart-health functional food ingredient, confirmed on Friday that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with £3bn listed Chinese dietary supplement business By-Health to support the planned launch of some Fruitflow-based products in the Chinese market.
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The AIM-traded firm said the agreement was structured on an open-ended framework basis, which would enable the parties to conduct a number of different projects over an unspecified period of time under the one overriding deal, with all projects envisaged to be at By-Health's sole expense.
It was envisaged that projects conducted under the agreement would be focussed on “specific areas” of commercial focus for By-Health, with the first project to concentrate on the use of Fruitflow with nitrates in exercise - an area of considerable commercial interest to By-Health in China.
The company said it also envisaged that project work would be managed and conducted by Provexis primarily in the UK, led by its chief scientific officer Niamh O'Kennedy and supported by outsourced research partners, which would be appointed and managed by Provexis.
It said the Fruitflow with nitrates in exercise project would provide gross income to Provexis in excess of £55k, to include an element of overhead recovery.
The project would not affect the ownership of Provexis' existing intellectual property for the Fruitflow with nitrates formulation, which already had patents granted in the UK and Australia.
Further patents for that formulation are being sought in Europe, the United States, China and 11 other territories, with potential patent protection out to December 2033.
All other commercial terms of the agreement remained confidential between the two parties, the board explained.
The company had previously said it was working with DSM and By-Health to support the planned launch of some Fruitflow-based products in the Chinese market.
“We are delighted to announce this open-ended collaboration agreement with By-Health, which further strengthens the already close relationship between By-Health and Provexis,” said Provexis chief financial and operations officer Ian Ford.
“By-Health has already made a substantial investment at its sole expense in the clinical trials which it has been conducting in China, seeking to secure blue cap health claim status for Fruitflow.
“The company is very pleased to be able to assist By-Health with its commercialisation plans for Fruitflow in China, by way of this new investment with Provexis in the UK, and it will seek to undertake further projects for By-Health under this flexible framework agreement.”
Ford said the clinical studies which By-Health had been conducting in China had been progressing well, with the completed studies showing “excellent” results in use for Fruitflow, which he said provided “strong evidence” for By-Health in its blue cap and other regulatory submissions to the Chinese SAMR.
“If a successful blue cap health claim is achieved for Fruitflow in China it would currently be expected to result in some significant orders for Fruitflow, potentially at a multiple of current total sales values.
“The company will provide shareholders with as much information as it can with regard to the timing of this commercially sensitive and potentially transformative process.”