ProBiotix Health has signed a license agreement with Kappa Bioscience for the use of Lactobacillus plantarum LPLDL in a new application area within cardiovascular health. The agreement covers 27 countries, largely in Europe, but also includes Russia and Singapore.

The new vascular health product will combine the Optibiotix subsidiary’s cholesterol and blood pressure-reducing probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum LPLDL with Kappas proprietary K2VITAL , which they market as the purest and most active form of vitamin K2.

The product is being developed to improve vascular health and is another addition to a portfolio of cardiovascular health products (cholesterol reduction, hypertension reduction) containing LPLDL.

This agreement is a strategic step to include LPLDL in a wide range of cardiovascular health supplements, and in food, dairy, and beverage products across the world. This builds brand recognition, enhancing brand value, and creates a demand by partners to include LPLDL as the functional ingredient in a wider range of products.

Dr Luis Gosalbez, Business Development Director at OptiBiotix, explained: "This broadens the use of LPLDL beyond cholesterol reduction and creates new market opportunities in the field of cardiovascular health. The result is a new product for vascular health, a segment of cardiovascular care wher very few products are currently available.”

Gosalbez added that means the company is able to derive revenue from both the sale of a wide range of cardiovascular health products containing LPLDL, as well as LPLDL ingredient sales."

Manufacturing

ProBiotixs preferred development and production partner, Nutrilinea Srl in Milan (Italy), will cover the costs of development and will be the manufacturer of the final product. Kappa and ProBiotix will then commercialise the product leveraging their existing and new distribution networks.

based in Norway, Kappa has developed a technology to manufacture vitamin K2 MK-7 (all-trans menaquinone-7) with the highest purity and bioavailability, allowing for more cost-effective and efficacious dosing. Marketed under the K2VITAL​ brand name.

The combination of both ingredients creates a product which has the potential to reduce a number of independent cardiovascular risk factors and improve cardiovascular health.