Exclusive Distribution Agreement for Chinese CBEC

RNS Number : 3453F

Provexis PLC

16 November 2020

 

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR'). With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

16 November 2020

Provexis plc

('Provexis' or the 'Company')

Exclusive Distribution Agreement f or Chinese Cross-Border e-commerce ('CBEC')

Provexis, the business that develops, licenses and sells the proprietary, scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food ingredient, is pleased to announce it has entered into a distribution agreement with a company ('the Distributor') which will act as the distributor for Fruitflow+ Omega-3 in China, exclusively through the Chinese Cross-Border e-commerce ('CBEC') channel.

CBEC regulations include a waiver of the existing Chinese pre-importation registration requirements on specified categories of products, permitting overseas exporters to sell consumer goods directly to Chinese consumers through certain registered e-commerce platforms.

The agreement announced today grants the Distributor exclusive rights to import, market and sell the Company's Fruitflow+ Omega-3 dietary supplement product in China through the CBEC channel, with immediate effect. The Distributor will purchase Fruitflow+ Omega-3 as required from the Company, and the Distributor will then market and sell Fruitflow+ Omega-3 in China through its existing network of e-commerce and other sales channels.

Fruitflow+ Omega-3 is currently available to purchase from the Company's e-commerce website www.fruitflowplus.com , Amazon UK and Holland & Barrett. Subscriber numbers on the fruitflowplus.com website have been growing steadily, and they currently stand at a further new all-time high level.

The Company has recently completed a redesign of the existing Fruitflow+ Omega-3 packaging, to include a new single blister pack format, with this new packaging having been optimised for sales through CBEC by the Distributor in China.

BYHEALTH Co., Ltd.

The Company has been working since 2016 with BYHEALTH Co., Ltd ('By-Health'), a listed Chinese dietary supplement business valued at approximately £5bn, to support the planned launch of a number of Fruitflow based products in the Chinese market. The Company also has an open-ended collaboration agreement with By-Health which was announced in August 2019.

By-Health's activities are driven at present by the need to obtain 'blue cap' health claim status for Fruitflow as a dietary supplement with the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation. By-Health has made a significant investment in nine separate studies in China, at its sole expense, in support of the Fruitflow based products which it plans to launch in China.

The distribution agreement announced today is separate but wholly complementary to the Company's work with By-Health, with the CBEC regulations enabling the Distributor to sell Fruitflow+ Omega-3 in China now, prior to the blue cap health claim which By-Health is seeking to secure. If a successful blue cap health claim is achieved by By-Health for Fruitflow it would currently be expected to result in some significant orders for the product, potentially at a multiple of current total sales values.

The Chairman of By-Health, Mr Liang, referred to By-Health's interest in and development of anti-platelet aggregation products in an important speech on 28 October 2020 marking By-Health's 25^th anniversary www.by-health.com/en/newsitem/36255 .

Fruitflow and Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

There are more than 290m people in China who are currently thought to have cardiovascular disease, a major public health issue for the country, and this upward trend is projected to continue (source: China cardiovascular diseases report 2018: an updated summary -
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7008101 ). CVD also remains the leading cause of death globally (source: WHO - Cardiovascular Diseases - www.who.int/health-topics/cardiovascular-diseases ).

Fruitflow is a natural, breakthrough antiplatelet ingredient that contributes to normal blood flow and circulation, which benefits cardiovascular health. The science behind Fruitflow has been validated by leading peer review publications and regulatory authorities, and the product remains the only natural antiplatelet to have secured a health claim approved by the European Food Safety Authority stating that 150mg of Fruitflow 'helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow'.

Fruitflow has a number of other specific health benefits which have been reflected in separate patent filings for the use of Fruitflow in:

· mitigating exercise-induced inflammation;

· managing blood pressure; and

·   protecting against the adverse effects of air pollution on the body's cardiovascular system. Laboratory work has shown that Fruitflow can reduce the platelet activation caused by airborne particulate matter, such as that from diesel emissions, by approximately one third.

The Company believes that Fruitflow has the potential to play an important role in the Chinese cardiovascular health market, with many attributes of the product being particularly relevant for Chinese consumers.

Ian Ford, CEO of Provexis, commented:

'We are delighted to announce this distribution agreement for Fruitflow+ Omega-3 in China through the CBEC channel, at a time of record online spending in China.

More than 290m people in China are now thought to have cardiovascular disease, an upward trend which is projected to continue. The Company's Fruitflow+ Omega-3 product has a number of proven attributes which are expected to be particularly relevant for Chinese consumers, and these attributes will be promoted strongly by the Company's new distributor.

The Company believes that Fruitflow has the potential to play an important role in the Chinese cardiovascular health market, and it looks forward to a long and successful association with its new distributor for Fruitflow+ Omega-3 in China, through the CBEC channel.'

For further information please contact:

Provexis plc Ian Ford, CEO Dr Niamh O'Kennedy, CSO	Tel:  [phone]   [e-mail]
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser) Nick Naylor / Liz Kirchner	Tel:  [phone]

Notes for editors

About Provexis plc

AIM-listed Provexis is focused on the development, licensing and sales of its proprietary, scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food ingredient.

Fruitflow is a natural, breakthrough ingredient that helps with platelet aggregation. This helps promote normal blood flow and circulation, which in turn benefits cardiovascular health. Fruitflow helps the platelets to circulate freely and smoothly throughout your blood, without sticking to one another or to the blood vessels themselves. Freely flowing blood helps reduce stress on your cardiovascular system.

Fruitflow is a highly concentrated form of bioactives which is lycopene-free and contains over 30 known anti-platelet compounds. Published clinical studies have shown that Fruitflow works to maintain healthy blood flow in a similar way to 75mg aspirin but with a milder and reversible action; Fruitflow has a similar antiplatelet effect to a single dose of aspirin - but when taken daily, it has none of aspirin's side effects.

The science behind Fruitflow has been validated by leading peer review publications and regulatory authorities. Fruitflow is the only natural antiplatelet to have a health claim approved by the European Food Safety Authority, stating that 150mg of Fruitflow 'helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow'.

Provexis plc entered into a long-term Alliance Agreement with DSM Nutritional Products in 2010 to commercialise Fruitflow through sales as an ingredient to brand owners in the food, beverage and dietary supplement categories. More than 90 regional consumer healthcare brands have now been launched by direct customers of DSM, and a number of further regional brands have been launched through DSM's distributor channels.

Fruitflow has a number of specific health benefits which have been reflected in separate patent filings for the use of Fruitflow in:

· mitigating exercise-induced inflammation;

· managing blood pressure; and

·Protecting against the adverse effects of air pollution on the body's cardiovascular system. Laboratory work has shown that Fruitflow can reduce the platelet activation caused by airborne particulate matter, such as that from diesel emissions, by approximately one third.

Provexis sells a high quality dietary supplement product containing Fruitflow and Omega-3 from its separate website www.fruitflowplus.com on a mail order basis. The product is also available to purchase from Amazon.co.uk and from Holland & Barrett.

The Company is working closely with By-health Co., Ltd, a £5bn listed Chinese dietary supplement business, to support the planned launch of some Fruitflow based products in the Chinese market. The planned launch is progressing well with potential sales volumes remaining at a significant multiple of existing Fruitflow sales.

By-Health has made a significant investment in nine separate clinical studies in China, at its sole expense, in support of the Fruitflow based products which it plans to launch in China. The five studies which have been completed by By-Health showed excellent results in use for Fruitflow, and provide strong evidence for By-Health in its regulatory submissions for Fruitflow.

If a successful blue cap health claim is achieved for Fruitflow in China it would currently be expected to result in some significant recurring orders for Fruitflow, at a multiple of current total sales values.

COVID-19

The Company and DSM have experienced increased consumer interest for Fruitflow in recent months, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, as consumers look to nutritional interventions to help them fortify the circulatory system against the effects of COVID-19. The Company and DSM will look to maximise the commercial opportunities arising from this increased consumer interest in Fruitflow, and will further promote the core blood circulatory and anti-inflammatory benefits of the product.

In September 2020 Fruitflow was recognised in a review article by the Frontiers in Nutrition journal www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2020.583080/full which stated that nutraceuticals such as Fruitflow may serve as:

'A safe antiplatelet prophylactic treatment for those at high risk of COVID-19 who may also be at increased risk of thrombotic complications and an alternative to pharmacological compounds that may cause greater risk of bleeding.'

Provexis was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Reading, Berkshire.

Provexis shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PXS.

For further information, please visit www.provexis.com and www.fruitflowplus.com.

 

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