REG - Provexis PLC - Issue of Equity - purchase of Fruitflow® II SD

ProvexisAnnouncement

28/03/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 6038I  Provexis PLC  28 March 2024

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was
deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the
UK Market Abuse Regulation. With the publication of this announcement, this
information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

 

28 March 2024

Provexis plc

('Provexis' or the 'Company')

 

Purchase of Fruitflow® II SD from dsm-firmenich and issue of equity

 

Provexis, the business that develops, licenses and sells the proprietary,
scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food ingredient, is
pleased to announce that it has agreed to purchase a further batch of
Fruitflow II SD ('Fruitflow') inventory from dsm-firmenich, to satisfy
increasing demand for Fruitflow.

 

The inventory purchase totals £341,000, and Provexis has agreed to issue
45,123,732 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the Company (the 'New Provexis
Shares') to dsm-firmenich in part satisfaction of the inventory purchase, with
the remainder of the inventory purchase to be paid for in cash.

 

The Company and dsm-firmenich agreed a valuation of £293,304 for the
45,123,732 New Provexis Shares, based on the 0.65 pence closing mid-market
price per Ordinary Share on 15 March 2024.

 

The 45,123,732 New Provexis Shares were valued at £266,230 at the 0.59 pence
closing mid-market price per Ordinary Share on 27 March 2024, being the latest
practicable date prior to this announcement, and they represent 2.03% of the
Company's existing issued share capital.

 

The Company is also pleased to confirm that it has now completed the setup of
a new Irish subsidiary company, Provexis Ireland Limited, which will
facilitate tariff free sales of Fruitflow to customers in the EU.

 

Provexis Ireland Limited will use an outsourced fulfilment centre in Ireland
to serve EU customers for Fruitflow, and the majority of the inventory
purchased from dsm-firmenich today will be shipped to the new fulfilment
centre in Ireland.

 

Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the 45,123,732 New
Provexis Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that
admission will become effective and that trading in the New Provexis Shares
will commence on or around 5 April 2024 ('Admission').

 

Following Admission, the Company's enlarged issued share capital will comprise
2,262,945,255 ordinary shares with voting rights. The Company does not hold
any shares in treasury. This figure of 2,262,945,255 ordinary shares may be
used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by
which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or
a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the
FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

 

It has been agreed with dsm-firmenich that the 45,123,732 New Provexis Shares
will be issued to DSM Venturing BV, a significant existing shareholder in
Provexis. On 27 March 2024 the Company learned that DSM Venturing BV's current
shareholding is 130,923,358 shares, being 5.90% of the Company's existing
issued share capital, and after the issue of the 45,123,732 New Provexis
Shares DSM Venturing BV will hold 176,047,090 shares, which will be 7.78% of
the Company's enlarged issued share capital.

 

Ian Ford, CEO of Provexis, commented:

'We are delighted to have completed this further purchase of Fruitflow
inventory from dsm-firmenich with the majority of the consideration payable in
new Provexis shares, and we would like to thank dsm-firmenich for their
continued support.

 

Provexis and dsm-firmenich have acted in commercial partnership for Fruitflow
since 2010, and the Company was delighted to have agreed a new long-term
partnership with dsm-firmenich in 2022 based on the use of Fruitflow to confer
health benefits in modulating the gut microbiome of humans, to include a
reduction in TMAO (trimethylamine-n-oxide).

 

The gut microbiome partnership has continued to progress well, and there has
been some encouraging and ongoing interest in this technology from some
significant global customers.

 

The further purchase of Fruitflow inventory announced today has been made to
satisfy an increasing demand from customers of Provexis for the product and
reflects the positive momentum that Provexis has enjoyed since initiating the
process to transfer customers from dsm-firmenich to the Company in January
2023. The Company is also pleased to have completed the setup of a new Irish
subsidiary company and related fulfilment centre, which will greatly
facilitate tariff free sales of Fruitflow to customers in the EU.'

 

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Provexis plc                                 Tel:         07490 391888

 Ian Ford, CEO                                                enquiries@provexis.com

 Dawson Buck, Chairman

 Allenby Capital Limited                      Tel:         020 3328 5656

 Nick Naylor / Liz Kirchner / Lauren Wright

 

 

Notes for editors

 

About Provexis plc

AIM quoted Provexis is focused on the development, licensing and sales of its
proprietary, scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food
ingredient.

 

Fruitflow is a natural, breakthrough ingredient that helps with platelet
aggregation. This helps promote normal blood flow and circulation, which in
turn benefits cardiovascular health. Fruitflow helps the platelets to
circulate freely and smoothly throughout your blood, without sticking to one
another or to the blood vessels themselves. Freely flowing blood helps reduce
stress on your cardiovascular system.

 

Fruitflow is a highly concentrated form of bioactives which is lycopene-free
and contains over 30 known anti-platelet compounds. Published clinical studies
have shown that Fruitflow works to maintain healthy blood flow in a similar
way to 75mg aspirin but with a milder and reversible action; Fruitflow has a
similar antiplatelet effect to a single dose of aspirin - but when taken
daily, it has none of aspirin's side effects.

 

The science behind Fruitflow has been validated by leading peer review
publications and regulatory authorities. Fruitflow is the only natural
antiplatelet to have a health claim approved by the European Food Safety
Authority, stating that 150mg of Fruitflow 'helps maintain normal platelet
aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow'.

 

Fruitflow has a number of specific health benefits which have been reflected
in separate patent filings for the use of Fruitflow in:

 

·    mitigating exercise-induced inflammation;

·    managing blood pressure;

·    protecting against the adverse effects of air pollution on the body's
cardiovascular system. Laboratory work has shown that Fruitflow can reduce the
platelet activation caused by airborne particulate matter, such as that from
diesel emissions, by approximately one third; and

·    conferring health benefits in modulating the gut microbiome of
humans, to include a reduction in TMAO, following the completion of a
successful human study which is further detailed here
www.dsm.com/human-nutrition/en/talking-nutrition/press-releases/2023-01-20-new-study-reveals-dsms-fruitflow-activates-gut-heart.html
(http://www.dsm.com/human-nutrition/en/talking-nutrition/press-releases/2023-01-20-new-study-reveals-dsms-fruitflow-activates-gut-heart.html)
.

 

Provexis sells a high quality dietary supplement product containing Fruitflow
and Omega-3 from its website www.fruitflowplus.com
(http://www.fruitflowplus.com) on a mail order basis. The product is also
available to purchase from Amazon.co.uk and from Holland & Barrett.

 

Provexis has been working with BYHEALTH, a circa £3bn listed Chinese dietary
supplement business, for more than seven years to support the planned launch
of a number of Fruitflow based products in the Chinese market. Clinical
studies conducted in China are typically required to obtain the necessary
regulatory clearances in China, and a significant investment in eight separate
Fruitflow studies has been undertaken at BYHEALTH's expense. Completed studies
have shown excellent results in use for Fruitflow, and they provide strong
evidence for the efficacy of Fruitflow on platelet function.

 

The Chinese regulatory system for functional health food ingredients, such as
Fruitflow, is governed by the State Administration for Market Regulation (the
'SAMR') and it is based on a defined list of permitted health function claims
which brand owners are permitted to use on product labels.

 

In August 2023 the Company was delighted to report that BYHEALTH had
submitted: i) the first application for a new permitted health function claim
and ii) some related product registration applications.

 

The significance of these major developments for Fruitflow in China is further
outlined here
www.nutraingredients-asia.com/Article/2023/09/05/china-set-to-approve-new-function-claims-for-health-foods#
(http://www.nutraingredients-asia.com/Article/2023/09/05/china-set-to-approve-new-function-claims-for-health-foods)
. BYHEALTH has noted that it has been working on the project since 2015, with
'tens of millions of funds' (RMB) invested by BYHEALTH in the research and
development work.

 

Provexis was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Reading, Berkshire.
Provexis' shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange
under the ticker symbol PXS.

 

For further information, please visit www.provexis.com and
www.fruitflowplus.com (http://www.fruitflowplus.com) .

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