OptiBiotix: Scientific community must double-down on efforts to reduce cardiovascular risk following presentation at US Global Engage Conference

OptiBiotix: Scientific community must double-down on efforts to reduce cardiovascular risk following presentation at US Global Engage Conference

OptiBiotix Health Plc (‘OptiBiotix’), a global market leader in the life sciences industry, together with its subsidiary ProBiotix Health Plc (‘ProBiotix’) has shared its unique insight into microbiome modulators at this year’s Global Engage 10th Microbiome & Probiotics R&D and Business Conference.  

The world-renowned business and scientific event, which was hosted in Miami, FL, USA, brought together more than 250 business leaders and academics to discuss the latest in microbiome research.  

OptiBiotix CEO and founder, Stephen O’Hara, and R&D Director, Dr. Sofia Kolida, presented their findings on the award-winning weight management solution SlimBiome^® and the patented probiotic strain, Lactobacillus plantarum, LPLDL^®, during the two-day conference.  

Commenting after his speaker presentation, O’Hara said: “Emerging research from the American Heart Association recently reported that heart disease death rates spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic, erasing up to five years of progress among all US adults and up to ten years for non-Hispanic black and younger adults1. With the potential of increased cardiovascular risk for those who have suffered from a previous Covid-19 infection, the scientific community must reinvest and double-down on its efforts to reduce and alleviate this risk where possible.   

“Globally, at least one-third of patients stop taking statins within one year of starting2, so there is a large unmet need for a safe and effective product, which reduces cholesterol and has no known side effects. We believe our three human studies and consumer data shows that LPLDL^® meets that need.” 

O’Hara presented the company’s latest human study results for LPLDL^® at the conference on Thursday 27th October in a presentation titled, ‘Next generation clinically proven probiotics for specific health conditions: cardiovascular health’. It was demonstrated that the GRAS and FDA approved probiotic strain could reduce key cardiovascular risk markers including total cholesterol by up to 34.2%, LDL cholesterol by 28.4% and Apolipoprotein B by 28.6%.  

During the event, O’Hara also presented data demonstrating the development of a novel reverse enzyme process. This, in turn, created a galacto-oligosaccharide, which selectively enhanced the growth of LPLDL^® and increased its cholesterol reducing activity.  

O’Hara continued: “There is increasing interest in synbiotic products within the scientific community and this work demonstrates our ability to create next generation targeted prebiotics, which can selectively enhance the growth and effect of existing probiotics. While this was presented for LPLDL^® at the conference, this technique is applicable across a wide range of bacteria. As such, it generates the potential to precision engineer the microbiome by creating products that selectively enhance the growth of specific bacteria, such as Roseburia, Propionibacteria and Faecalibacteria, in the gut to prevent and manage human disease.” 

In addition, Dr. Kolida spoke at the conference on Friday 28th October, regarding the impact of SlimBiome® and its capabilities in reducing hunger and promoting the feeling of fullness. Her poster presentation on the ‘Impact of SlimBiome on glycaemic response and satiation in healthy adults’ was later awarded the accolade of ‘Best Poster’ by the event’s organisers.  

“Our studies, conducted by the University of Roehampton, show the ability of SlimBiome to reduce food cravings, making it easier for people following a diet to reach and sustain their weight loss without feeling hungry.” 

To find out more about OptiBiotix and its microbiome modulators, visit optibiotix.com 

References: 

1. American Heart Association, October 2022 

2. Ofori R, Zoungas S and Liew D. Reinitiation of Statin Therapy After Discontinuation: A Meta-analysis. Mayo Clin Proc. 2018;93:666-668