LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Life sciences business OptiBiotix Health has entered into a manufacturing, supply and distribution agreement with Maxum Foods, it announced on Monday.
The AIM-traded firm said the agreement granted Maxum an exclusive license to manufacture, supply and distribute OptiBiotix's 'SlimBiome' weight management technology in Australia and New Zealand.

It described Maxum, founded in 2003, as an Australia-based dairy supplier headquartered in Brisbane and operating a dry blending facility in Melbourne, as well as distribution centres throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Maxum was named one of Australia's fastest-growing small-to-medium enterprises on the 2018 Smart50 list, with a turnover of AUD 150.7m (£84.28m) in 2018, and 110% growth between 2016 and 2018.

It said its weight management programme SlimBiome would be supplied by Maxum as a specialised functional ingredient into a "wide range" of applications including, but not limited to, human nutrition comprising food and beverages, dairy, dietary supplements and sports nutrition.

The board said it was another strategic step to de risk its supply chain and extend the market reach of SlimBiome, by adding manufacturing in Australia.

It explained that, partnering with an established distributor that serviced more than 950 customers and to whom it sold around 35,000 metric tonnes of dairy per year would extend the commercial opportunity for OptiBiotix's patented weight management product into the Australian weight management market, which was estimated to be worth AUD 320m in 2019.

"We are pleased to announce the signing of a manufacturing and supply agreement with Maxum," said Dr Fred Narbel, managing director of OptiBiotix's prebiotics division.

"We chose Maxum due to their knowledge of the Australian and New Zealand markets as well as their experience in distributing specialty ingredients like SlimBiome and their reputation for supplying high-quality products to the food industry.

"We believe working with Maxum, and similar partners around the world, provides the best opportunity of increasing our global commercial reach and catering to the growing interest we are seeing in SlimBiome from partners worldwide."

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