Foodtech-bolaget Carbiotix befinner sig i en intensiv utvecklingsfas. Nyligen uppdaterade bolaget om första kvartalets aktiviteter och ett ökat intresse för analystjänsten LinkGut. Strax därefter erhöll bolaget besked om sitt första amerikanska patent avseende CarbiAXOS, den prebiotiska modulatorn som är stommen i bolagets produkterbjudande. Dessutom har Carbiotix inlett ett utvärderingsprojekt med ärtproteinbolaget GroPro, samt installerat den första CarbiAXOS-produktionslinjen. BioStock kontaktade vd Kristofer Cook för en kommentar om de senaste nyheterna.

Lundabaserade Carbiotix utvecklar och lanserar Smart Prebiotics, ett koncept som kombinerar CarbiAXOS, nästa generation av prebiotiska modulatorer, med en avancerad laboratoriebaserad analystjänst, LinkGut, som ger användaren möjlighet att över tid övervaka och moderera tillståndet i tarmen för en bättre hälsa.

Utvärderar fler fiberkällor

Carbiotix utvärderar möjligheten att använda fler fiberkällor än majsfiber till framställningen av CarbiAXOS. Nyligen initierades ett nio månader långt utvärderingsprojekt med ärtproteinbolaget GroPro för att utvärdera den tekniska och ekonomiska möjligheten att skala upp CarbiAXOS-produktionen med fiber-biprodukter som genereras vid tillverkningen av ärtprotein. Carbiotix genomför även ett liknande utvecklingsprojekt tillsammans med ett nordiskt kontraktstillverkningsbolag som tillverkar växtbaserade mejerialternativ.

Slutförd installation av den första CarbiAXOS-produktionslinjen

Stort fokus har under den senaste tiden legat på färdigställandet av bolagets första storskaliga produktionsenhet för CarbiAXOS i Bjuv. Igår kunde Carbiotix meddela att den första CarbiAXOS-produktionslinjen är färdigställd och att den kommer att startas upp i slutet av april efter mindre justeringar och inspektioner.

Ökat intresse för LinkGut

Carbiotix har även jobbat med att etablera white label-tjänsten LinkGut för tarmhälsoanalys. Bolaget uppdaterade nyligen marknaden om första kvartalets aktiviteter avseende LinkGut och rapporterade att de för närvarande har fyra gällande kontrakt och två utrullningar av plattformen. Ytterligare tio kunder har kontaktats under perioden där bolaget förhandlar om avtal med sex av dem.

Implementeringen av LinkGut-tjänsten är en viktig del i konceptet som kan driva efterfrågan på CarbiAXOS-baserade livsmedel, kosttillskott och dryckesingredienser. Enligt Carbiotix tidigare kommunicerade marknadsföringsplan ska CarbiAXOS nå den amerikanska marknaden under 2022. 

Första patentet godkänt i USA

Som för alla bolag med nya produkter och tjänster under utveckling är de immateriella rättigheterna en nyckeltillgång. I veckan meddelade Carbiotix att de erhållit besked om godkännande av sitt första patent från USPTO, den amerikanska patentmyndigheten, avseende CarbiAXOS. Patenten gäller till 2036 och omfattar skydd inom alla klasser av modulatorer, d.v.s. som ingrediens i livsmedel, drycker och kosttillskott, samt även medicinsk mat och terapeutiska sambehandlingar.

För att bibehålla takten i utvecklingsarbetet har Carbiotix föreslagit en företrädesemission under Q2 om 20 Mkr i ett första skede. Bolagets vd Kristofer Cook kommenterade emissionen i en intervju med BioStock, som du kan se här. 

Cook meddelade nyligen att han har åtagit sig att teckna aktier motsvarande 550 000 kr utöver aktierna han förvärvade under perioden 25 mars till den 8 april om 450 000 kr. BioStock kontaktade Kristofer Cook för en kommentar om de senaste nyheterna.

Kristofer, you are reporting about an increased interest in your LinkGut service – what kind of clients are showing interest in your Smart Prebiotics concept?

– We are firstly seeing a continued interest from health and wellness companies, who were the first group of companies we targeted with the LinkGut service. These companies see the potential of developing interventions using the Smart Prebiotic concept. Secondly, we see an interest from existing smaller nutraceutical companies who are in fact the first target group for CarbiAXOS. It is very reassuring that this group of companies sees the potential of linking a companion diagnostic for gut health with their products. 

What is your goal – how many new clients are you aiming for in 2022?

– Our 2022 goal of rolling out a new LinkGut partner every quarter still stands. Although we are happy to have any health and wellness company leverage our LinkGut service, we are especially happy when we are contacted by nutraceutical companies interested in both CarbiAXOS and LinkGut. We will continue to build a pipeline of companies for the LinkGut service and provide samples to potential CarbiAXOS customers for testing and formulation activities as common practice.

– Onboarding smaller nutraceutical companies initially in the US or with sales targeting the US will be our primary focus in 2022 and 2023 as this will allow us to build CarbiAXOS production capacity in line with what is realistic and demanded. This will in turn allow us to build a strong customer base starting with smaller companies before moving on to medium sized and larger companies in each modulator class we target. The larger the customer, the higher demands for production capacity and redundancy, as well as clinical studies and a lower price. In time we will be able to meet these demands however grow our business along the way and mitigate the risks of quickly scaling up.   

Receiving your first patent in the US is obviously a milestone. What does this mean for your market roadmap?

– Receiving a patent is most always a good thing, especially in this case where the patent was submitted in 2015 thus providing protection in the US market 20 years from this year. Getting this US patent is also very timely especially when considering that we will start planning for US expansion at the beginning of 2023.

»Holding IP provides a level of legitimacy, especially when negotiating with larger industry players and financiers.«

– Holding IP provides a level of legitimacy, especially when negotiating with larger industry players and financiers. For our roadmap, this patent provides protection for all planned modulator classes from food & beverage ingredients to nutraceutical ingredients, medical foods and therapeutic co-treatments. This is due to the fact that the patent relates to the production of CarbiAXOS which is a backbone ingredient for all products simply differing in purity and downstream processing.

The first production line is soon up and running. What does this mean for the company?

– This is definitely a major milestone for the company as without a production line we are unable to deliver CarbiAXOS for studies, samples for customer testing and formulation work, and products for sale. Moreover, our own production line allows us to accelerate development activities with regards to exploring new substrate materials such as pea fibre, thus allowing us to hedge against supply chain risks. Operating our own production line provides a template for scaling up our process in Sweden and the US/Europe, allowing us to invite investors and customers for site visits. It is the scaling up of our process and increasing the amount of CarbiAXOS manufactured that will drive revenues, profits and value creation for shareholders. Our companion diagnostic service LinkGut is really only offered to create a competitive advantage making our modulators more attractive to customers.

»This is definitely a major milestone for the company as without a production line we are unable to deliver CarbiAXOS for studies, samples for customer testing and formulation work, and products for sale.«

You are evaluating using side-stream fibre products from manufacturing of pea protein and plant-based dairy alternatives to produce CarbiAXOS. What benefits can this provide, both for Carbiotix and the manufacturers?

 – It is first important to point out that these two evaluation projects are with two different companies. One project is with a plant-based dairy alternative contract manufacturer and the other project is with GroPro, a pea protein manufacturer. These two projects will allow us to explore local and available substrates to produce CarbiAXOS, thus hedging against supply chain risks. Moreover, each substrate or starting fibre can lead to the production of a prebiotic with different properties, thus broadening our product portfolio. For GroPro and the contract manufacturing company, the project presents an opportunity to gain more value from a side-stream product. This makes sense from a health, sustainability and financial point of view, thus making business sense.

Finally, in your upcoming rights issue you have personally committed to subscribe for 550 000 SEK of a total issue of 20 MSEK. For how long will this funding last? 

– I have previously communicated that I will continue to increase my holding in Carbiotix whenever I am allowed to do so, and it makes sense for me as well as the company. Joining the management team and Board pre-subscription commitment of 1 MSEK in the upcoming planned rights issue by subscribing to 550,000 SEK of company shares made sense, in addition to the 450,000 SEK of company shares I purchased over the past three weeks.

­ – Although the planned funding round will raise approximately 20 MSEK, the connected TO will raise an additional 20-40 MSEK in 2023. These funds should allow us to reach profitability in 2024 (depending on amount of funds raised) as we ramp up of the production and sale of CarbiAXOS, the key value driver in the company. The planned rights issue was structured in response to investor feedback from previous investment rounds so as to provide a very competitive and compelling offering, especially in light of recent company developments. My hope is that investors both see and appreciate my efforts to provide a potentially rewarding investment opportunity and continue to support company efforts going forward.