AB-BIOTICS Sells AB-FORTIS Patent to Frutarom

BARCELONA, Spain, November 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

AB-BIOTICS, the Spanish biotechnology company listed on the Alternative Stock Market (MAB), has reached an agreement to sell its two-layered iron microencapsulation technology AB-FORTIS to FRUTAROM Industries Ltd - one of the world's 10 largest companies in the field of flavours and natural specialty fine ingredients. Frutarom licensed AB-FORTIS in 2012.

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Yoni Glickman, President of Frutarom's Natural Product Solutions Unit, said: 'The acquisition of the AB-Fortis technology continues the fulfillment of Frutarom's broad strategic drive to strengthen its position as a leading, innovative global supplier of natural specialty products and functional food components in the fields of taste and health. AB-Fortis' unique micro-encapsulation technology expands Frutarom's diverse product portfolio in the growing field of specialty Health ingredients. Delivering Iron supplementation in a bio-available and palatable manner is an important objective for many of our food and supplement customers and we continue to work with them closely to bring this and other innovative solutions that combine our core competencies in Taste and Health'.

In the words of the founders of AB-BIOTICS, Miquel Ángel Bonachera and Sergi Audivert, 'the divestment of AB-FORTIS is part of the company strategy focusing on its Probiotics business, which supported a 69% growth in sales the company reported in the first half of 2017'. In addition, they added: 'AB-BIOTICS is currently running 13 clinical trials involving 1,600 patients with probiotics for existing concepts and new indications. The sale of AB-FORTIS will support our capital expenditure in R&D'.

With this transaction, AB-BIOTICS prioritises the probiotics as its core business, representing 87% of its total sales. Additionally, the company is focused on the most important OTC countries: Italy, United States, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Russia, England and Japan.

AB-FORTIS - a unique innovative method of iron micro-encapsulation 

Iron deficiency is the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world and affects, to a greater or lesser extent, 2.3 billion people and has multiple consequences on human health, such as an impaired cerebral and intellectual development - especially when the deficiency takes place during pregnancy, the perinatal period and the first and second years of infancy.

AB-FORTIS is a food ingredient, in powder form, and has a very good level of stability. Another crucial advantage of AB-Fortis is the minimal release of iron from the microcapsules during its storage, which prevents the classical side effects of the administration of free iron: metallic taste, dental darkening, abdominal pain, black faeces...

AB-FORTIS has two applications: on one hand, it makes the enrichment of beverages and foods (yoghurts, milk, meat, cereals) possible without altering its taste and appearance, and, on the other, it can be applied in the pharmaceutical industry in infantile syrups and food supplements, avoiding the oxidation of folic acid or omega-3 fatty acids.

ABOUT AB-BIOTICS 

AB-BIOTICS, founded in 2004 by nutritionist and food technologist Sergi Audivert and the biochemist Miquel Ángel Bonachera, is a Spanish biotechnology company focused on research, development, protection and distribution of proprietary and unique biotechnology solutions to improve health and well-being of people. Company's areas of activity include the development of pharmacogenetics tests for neuropsychiatry, and probiotics and other functional ingredients for the food and pharmaceutical industry. Since 2010 AB-BIOTICS is listed on the Alternative Stock Market (MAB).

ABOUT FRUTAROM 

Frutarom is a leading global company operating in the global flavours and natural fine ingredients markets. Frutarom has significant production and development centres on all six continents and markets and sells over 60,000 products to more than 30,000 customers in over 150 countries. Frutarom's products are intended mainly for the food and beverages, flavour and fragrance extracts, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, health food, functional food, food supplement and cosmetics industries. Frutarom employs approximately 5,000 people worldwide.

SOURCE AB-Biotics