How Stephen O'Hara's business empire is on a mission to save lives

Stephen O’Hara is on a simple but noble mission.

He want to use the power of science to save lives. Mr O’Hara is a scientist by training but an entrepreneur by temperament, with a track record of success in identifying opportunities, raising finance, commercialising products, and taking a number of companies to exit by IPO (initial public offering) or trade sale.

Over the years, he has built a number of businesses, including Acolyte Biomedica, a company that speeds up the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases. which he exited to 3M healthcare in 2007 .

He founded OptiBiotix in May 2012, SkinBiotix - subsequently SkinBiotherapeutics plc - in 2015, and ProBiotix health Ltd in 2018, to commercialise opportunities in the evolving microbiome field.

Microbiome is a term used to describe a specific collection of microorganisms, such as bacteria, that exist in a particular environment, like the gut.

He recalled: “I founded Optibiotix because I could see that probiotic health products on the market were growing quickly. It became very interesting commercially. Cardiovascular health is also a big market. Most people can’t tolerate statins for more than a year to 18 months, which provides opportunities for our products.

“I felt we had reached a point where, in order to invest in Probiotix, I needed to commercially separate the two businesses. With these new funds we can invest in growing the ProBiotix Health business more quickly.”

He stresses that Optibiotix and ProBiotix are companies registered in Yorkshire, so an initial investment by Finance Yorkshire, which has supported the growth of businesses in the region, has led to the development of two companies on the stock market.

He added: “The key point is that we have used Yorkshire based universities like Sheffield to develop these products.

“These products are using Yorkshire based science to make a difference to people’s lives, with clinical studies of our cholesterol product, cholbiome, showing reduction in total cholesterol of 34.6% and LDL (bad) cholesterol of 26.4%.

“ These products are now showing similar reductions in cholesterol to many statins, but without the side effects.”

Mr O’Hara added: “We need people on the ground in the US as we look to increase revenue to up to £15m within five years.

“We’re adding to the team going forward internationally and locally.”

When I interviewed him he had just come off the phone from a long conversation with Leeds University, a sign that he values deep relationships with centres of learning in Yorkshire.

He added: “We pay for post-doctorate researchers in these universities and have invested in them.

“We don’t have the facilities themselves, we have worked with universities who have the expertise and the equipment.”

“The question that has to be asked when you create a new product is: What health benefits do users get? How does it differentiate itself?

He added: “It’s translating science into a benefit that people recognise. We are not just making a product that has good science behind it. People will look behind the product and go online to find out more.”

But why did he list ProBiotix health as a separate entity to OptiBiotix?

OptiBiotix’s strategy since 2017 has been to develop as a group company with multiple positions in the microbiome space, which provides the potential for each to be listed separately.

Mr O’Hara said: “The channels to market and skill sets needed to commercialise pre and probiotics are very different.

“Prebiotic are largely seen as ingredients sold to food companies whilst probiotic are supplements or increasing seen as products in pharmacies or in dairy.”

ProBiotix is in a unique position compared when compared with other probiotic companies, according to Mr O’Hara.

He said: “It is accessing a large market - cardiovascular health - where existing products are limiting and there is a need for alternatives.

“It has its own strain LPLDL – so it’s not licensed from another company.

“It has three independent clinical studies. These are key to making health claims on the packaging and accessing the high value pharma, GP, and hospital markets where you need supporting clinical data. They are also key to accessing the US market to avoid class actions which are common for probiotics in the US.

“ You need to be very cautious about accessing the USA market without having the clinical studies to support the use of your product.”

“Our science shows that our product can lead to a big reduction in cholesterol.

He added: “Investment in science is not always successful. It’s about having a seed fund like Finance Yorkshire that is willing to take risks and create products that bring real health benefits to people around the world.

“I’m not primarily driven by a desire to make money. I get most satisfaction reading reviews of people who have benefited from taking our products.

He concluded : “We are working with very bright people and that science is reducing the risk of heart attacks for people around the world.”

Stephen O’Hara trained as a microbiologist and has given his name to 50 publications and more than 70 patents.

He has built a number of businesses and was a founder of Acolyte Biomedica which he exited to 3M healthcare in 2007 (at a 32X multiple) whereupon he became a director of healthcare.

He has been a director of an investment company and is frequently asked to advise on potential investments by institutional investors.

He founded OptiBiotix in May 2012, SkinBiotix (subsequently SkinBiotherapeutics plc) in 2015, and ProBiotix health Ltd in 2018. He listed OptiBiotix on the London Stock Exchange in August 2014 and SkinBiotherapeutics in April 2017.

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