OptiBiotix interesting big pharma with statin-free cholesterol pill

UK biotech OptiBiotix (LSE: OPTI) has been in talks with big pharma about a cholesterol pill believed to work as well as statins, but without the side effects, according to reports.

British newspaper The Times reported market interest in OptiBiotix’s research and its potential to avoid the need for statins, the side effects of which include headaches, joint pain and nosebleeds.

It comes after the company released further details this month on a 12-week double blind placebo controlled study of the tablet, which is made up of hundreds of millions of freeze-dried and compressed bacteria. The trial recruited 50 volunteers and was designed to establish safety, compliance, and the extent of the cholesterol lowering potential of OptiBiotix's Lactobacillus plantarum strain in mildly hypercholesterolemic adults.