Blis continues to expand in US

Another United States retailer would soon launch a consumer product based on Blis Technologies oral cavity probiotic, chief executive Barry Richardson told the Dunedin company's annual meeting yesterday.

BLIS K12 had been clinically studied both in New Zealand and internationally during the past 10 years and had been found to reduce the risk of certain bacterial infections of the upper airways as well as reducing bad breath.

However, the most significant use for K12 in the international market was to improve the body's immune system and to help protect it through the cold and flu season, he said.

The latest US retailer to confirm its interest in the probiotic was Rite Aid Pharmacy. The Fortune 500 company was the third largest drug store chain in the US with nearly 4800 stores.

The product being launched through the Rite Aid chain was similar to the product being introduced through retailer Costco. That announcement represented a continuation of the close relationship between Blis Technologies and the retail products manufacturer Imagenetix.

Sales of K12 this year were exceeding those in the same period last year, he said.

Forecast sales in North American and Asian markets remained positive but Blis would likely be constrained from fully developing new market opportunities outside of those markets.

The time and cost associated with meeting regulatory compliance in new markets was a hindrance. The tightening of dietary supplement and functional food regulations within the European market had affected several multi-national food manufacturers.

" ... it will likely increase the time required to fully realise the market potential in the EU."

North America, however, would remain a significant, profitable and growing market.

Blis was about to start a major clinical study in the US to support its application as an ingredient in food.

The company operates in the smaller dietary supplements market and is restricted by US law from marketing K12 as an ingredient in food such as yoghurt.

The human clinical study would become the cornerstone of the GRAS (generally recognised as safe) application to the US Food and Drug Administration. By undertaking the study, the company expected to raise the bar by setting a high standard of safety for future oral cavity probiotics, Dr Richardson said.