27 February 2024
Ocean Harvest Technology
Group plc
("OHT", the "Company", or the
"Group")
Grant of
Patent
Significant Milestone for
OHT's IP Strategy
Ocean Harvest Technology Group Plc
(AIM: OHT), a leading researcher, developer and supplier of
proprietary blended seaweed products as functional additives for
the global animal feed industry, is pleased to announce that it has
been granted a second patent, covering a wide range of claims about
the benefits of using its OceanFeedTM product in the
diets of a range of animals.
The patent protects the
claims:
i) of
how OHT's product positively impacts the gut through its proven
pre-biotic effect; and,
ii) that
this results in increased body weight and/or improved feed
efficiency in a wide range of animals.
The grant of this patent is a core
pillar of OHT's intellectual property strategy and protects OHT's
IP over the core claims of how its OceanFeedTM
proprietary blended seaweed additive products work and the benefits
it leads to which are so important to OHT's customers.
Importantly, the patent covers a range of formulations providing
OHT with significant flexibility in the future, both in terms of
which seaweeds the Company uses and the exact proportions in which
these are combined to produce the end products delivered to
customers.
The patent, GB1909443.2 "Seaweed
Blend for Modifying Gut Microbiota" has been issued by the UK
Intellectual Property Office and similar applications have been
made in other relevant jurisdictions by OHT. To OHT's knowledge,
this is the only patent that has been granted in any of OHT's
target markets which covers the mode of action of a seaweed blend
as an additive to animal feed diets.
This patent provides OHT with a
significant competitive advantage by ensuring that whilst others
can blend seaweeds together, they would not be able to make any of
the core claims about the benefits of the product that OHT can make
and which ultimately matter to the end buyers of
OceanFeedTM. This patent also acts as a significant
barrier to entry in the supply of blended seaweed products as
additives to animal feed.
OHT's IP strategy is part of a
multi-pronged approach to build a competitive advantage for the
business alongside its supply chain strategy, accumulation of "know
how" and an ever expanding body of data from dozens of commercial
and academic trials carried out over many years. The Company is
working to make seaweed-based feed additives a material part of the
$40 billion animal feed additive market and to ensure OHT can
maintain its position as a leading producer of seaweed blends to
this market.
Mark Williams, CEO of OHT, commented:
"The granting of this patent is a very important milestone for
OHT. For a number of years we have been demonstrating
improved performance in production animals from adding
OceanFeedTM to their diets including higher growth
rates, reduced mortality and improved feed efficiency. The
grant of this patent enables us to uniquely make and protect the
claims over these performance improvements and how they are
achieved, which is through the specific pre-biotic effect our
product has in the microbiome of the animals."
For more information please
contact:
Ocean Harvest Technology Group plc
|
Tel: +44 (0) 1737 735018
|
Mark Williams, CEO
|
|
|
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated Adviser and Sole Broker)
|
Tel: +44 020 7220 0500
|
Geoff Nash / Seamus Fricker / George
Dollemore (Corporate Finance)
Tim Redfern / Harriet Ward
(ECM)
|
|
|
|
Camarco (Financial PR
Adviser)
|
Tel: +44 (0) 203 757 4991
|
Tom Huddart / Rosie Driscoll /
Letaba Rimell
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oht@camarco.co.uk
|
The information contained within this announcement is deemed
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market
Abuse Regulations (EU No. 596/2014) which is part of UK law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the
publication of this announcement, this inside information is now
considered to be in the public domain.
Notes to Editors
Ocean Harvest Technology Group plc
is a global leader in the development and commercialisation of
value adding proprietary products from blending multiple species of
seaweed. The Company provides a range of natural additives focused
on improving animal performance and the sustainability of the feed
chain, through its unique and proven proprietary seaweed blends.
The Company sources its seaweed globally, utilising sustainable and
socially responsible harvesting of largely wild blooming seaweed
species. Its products are produced in its facility in Vietnam
and sold into the $40bn animal feed additive sector in multiple
markets across the world.
For more information, please
visit www.oceanharvesttechnology.com.