Carbiotix reaches several key AXOS scale-up milestones

Carbiotix AB (publ) ("Carbiotix") announces today that the company has reached several key milestones in the scale-up of its prebiotic corn fiber extract ingredient containing AXOS (AXOS). These include optimising the first commercial AXOS-process and product, securing a supply of corn bran from a top 5 global grain processor, and putting in place a first scale-up plan. Carbiotix will now begin to accelerate scale-up activities in the second half of 2020 as the company targets the 5 billion Euro global prebiotic ingredients market, as well as medical food and therapeutic applications in markets exceeding 15 billion Euros.

AXOS is a second-generation prebiotic that Carbiotix and its CSO Dr. Peter Flack have researched and developed over the past 8 years. Prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates or food for an individual’s host probiotic gut bacteria that stimulate the production of key Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs), metabolites that are essential for maintaining overall health. Early in-vitro studies conducted by Carbiotix demonstrated that AXOS was up to 10 times better than at market first-generation prebiotic ingredients such as Inulin, FOS and GOS in terms of bifidogenic effect, the production of SCFAs, fermentation time and tolerance. AXOS is produced from corn bran in a chemical and enzymatic process that is cost effective and flexible, and thus suitable for the production of ingredients for food & beverage products, supplements, medical foods and therapeutics.

Kristofer Cook, CEO for Carbiotix, comments

“After completing our fundamental enzyme development work earlier this year, we set an ambitious target of fulfilling three key AXOS scale-up milestones in the first half of 2020. These included completing optimization work of our first commercial AXOS-process and product, securing a dependable supply of food-grade corn bran, and putting in place a scale-up plan. I am very happy to announce that we fulfilled these milestones. Not only is the optimized AXOS product of a very high quality and the process flexible to produce many grades of AXOS for different applications, but we can produce AXOS at a cost and price it in line with first-generation prebiotics, which fundamentally gives us a strong competitive advantage. Moreover, we managed to establish a supply relationship with one of the top five grain processors in the world, helping to secure corn bran in volumes large enough to meet our scale-up ambitions.”  

Kristofer Cook continues,

“As a result, we could now put in place our first plan to scale-up the production of AXOS, starting with the production of several hundred kilograms at an existing pilot site located in the Food Science department at Lund University, Sweden during H2 2020. This AXOS will be partly used for our planned CVD and Type-2 Diabetes studies with partners. In parallel, we will work to finalize a detailed plan and consortium for a second larger pilot site, which is expected to be commissioned in 2021. This site will serve to provide samples to potential customers in larger volumes for formulation work, validate production costs for AXOS food & beverage and supplement ingredients, and eventually become Carbiotix primary production site for higher margin medical food and therapeutic ingredients. These efforts in development and scale up will mean that we are one step closer to generating sales in the 5 billion Euro global prebiotic ingredients market and able to launch medical food co-treatments and eventually therapeutic products through partners in markets further exceeding 15 billion Euros (1)(2)(3), as we fulfil our regulatory and clinical development targets over time.”  

This is information that Carbiotix AB is obliged to make public according to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The information was made publicly available by the company’s contact person set out below on 12 August 2020. 
 
Forward-looking statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements, consisting of subjective assumptions and forecasts for future scenarios. Predictions for the future only apply as of the date they are made and are, by their nature, as is research and development work in the biotechnology segment, associated with risk and uncertainty. With this in mind, the actual outcome may deviate significantly from the scenarios described in this press release. 
 

For further information:
Carbiotix AB
Kristofer Cook, CEO
Tel: +46 708-796580
E-mail: kristofer.cook@carbiotix.com

Carbiotix AB (CRBX) (www.carbiotix.com) is an award-winning biotechnology company pioneering microbiome healthcare through a range of cost-effective gut health testing services and a portfolio of microbiome modulators covering prebiotic ingredients, medical foods and therapeutics.