European Commission adoption

RNS Number : 2805E

Provexis PLC

17 December 2009

 



Provexis PLC

("Provexis" or the "Company")

European Commission adoption of claim for Fruitflow®

Provexis plc, the life-science business that discovers, develops and licenses scientifically-proven functional food, medical food and dietary supplement technologies, is pleased to announce it has received approval from the European Commission for the use of a health claim for its Fruitflow® anti-thrombotic technology.

The European Commission has informed the Company that its decision authorising the new health claim, the first to be approved under Article 13(5), will be adopted today and will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in the coming days. This is the final stage of the process to substantiate the claim that Fruitflow®, the water-soluble tomato concentrate, "helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow". The Company understands that flexibility will be allowed in the use of the claim wording in consumer communication and as such will enable "contributes to healthy blood flow" to be highlighted as the key consumer message. The Commission decision to authorise the use of the wording "helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow" will assist the Company in its negotiations with commercial partners for Fruitflow®. 

The European Commission's decision was made under Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims. This was following the approval in May 2009 of Fruitflow® as the first technology to have a health claim approved by the European Food Safety Authority ("EFSA") under Article 13(5) of the Regulation for proprietary and emerging science. Under Article 13(5), Provexis has proprietary rights over the majority of the scientific studies substantiating this claim for a period of five years. This is in addition to the extensive patent coverage in place.  

Stephen Moon, CEO of Provexis said:

"We are delighted with the Commission's decision which affirms Fruitflow® as a scientifically and commercially credible product which is proven to contribute to healthy blood flow. The conclusion of this process marks the first adoption of a nutrition and health claim under Article 13(5) in Europe. This is a significant landmark, not only for our own company and the development of Fruitflow®, but for British food technology and the industry as a whole.

We are excited about the next stage as we continue to explore options to make this technology available via consumer products in partnership with global brand owners and ingredients manufacturers."  

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For further information please contact:

Stephen Moon, Chief Executive

Provexis plc                                     Tel:    [phone]

Sam Plumptre/Bobbie Hilliam            Tel:    [phone]

Evolution Securities

Notes to Editors

About Fruitflow ®

Provexis' development of Fruitflow®, a water-soluble tomato concentrate, is a breakthrough in anti-thrombotic food technology.  In human trials, consumption of the Fruitflow® extract has been proven to reduce platelet aggregation in 97% of subjects. The effect takes place within three hours of consumption and lasts for up to eighteen hours, making it ideal for daily dosage in functional foods or dietary supplements.  Provexis has developed a syrup format for use in food & beverages and a concentrated powder format for tablets and capsules. 

Fruitflow® syrup is GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) by the US FDA and is not regarded as a Novel Food in the EU, clearing it for wide use in foods, beverages and supplements. In May 2009, the Fruitflow® technology was the first to be substantiated by the European Food Safety Authority ("EFSA") under the new Article 13(5) for proprietary and emerging science. 

The technology has been granted patents in the EU, US, Australia, Canada and Mexico, with Japan pending. Further patents have been filed for the bioactive components of Fruitflow and for other developmental areas such as deep vein thrombosis and triglyceride lowering.

About Provexis plc

AIM-listed Provexis is focused on the discovery, development and licensing of technologies for the functional food, dietary supplement and medical food sectors.

The company was originally spun out of the Rowett Institute (now part of the University of Aberdeen) in 1999 to commercialise their tomato extract discovery using venture capital funding. Provexis Limited was reversed into Nutrinnovator in 2005 and its major investors are DSM Venturing (22.6%) and Rising Stars Growth Fund (part of Enterprise Ventures) (11.2%).

The company has additional biotechnology developments, including a joint venture with the University of Liverpool to develop an extract of plantain which aids the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and an early stage technology under option from University of Manchester for the prevention and treatment of peptic ulcers. 

 

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