The life sciences business, which is developing compounds to tackle obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, has granted Pierce exclusive rights to import and commercialise OptiBiotix's SlimBiome and LPLDL to manufacture, develop, and sell a wide range of finished products to China and Hong Kong.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Singapore, Pierce specialises in cross border corporate development and investments with a focus on high growth partnerships.

This agreement is an important step in meeting the growing need for weight management and cardiovascular products in the large consumer markets of China and the Asia Pacific.

China has the largest number of overweight or obese people worldwide with about 46% of adults and 15% of children being obese or overweight.

Non-communicable diseases account for 87% of total adult deaths in China of which cardiovascular diseases ("CVD") account for almost half (45%)*

China has one of the highest CVD death rates in the world with one in five adults in China estimated to have cardiovascular disease*

The Chinese Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements industry increased 9.2% between 2017 and 2018 to reach a total market size of US$21 billion**

Mike McGeever, Chairman of Pierce said : "We are pleased to be working with OptiBiotix in marketing and distributing their products to the large and growing Chinese and Hong Kong markets. We believe in the benefits that OptiBiotix product portfolio will bring to the people of China and Hong Kong to address growing rates in obesity and other chronic diseases. We will leverage our team's experience in Asia and within the health sector to deliver a partnership of value for both parties."

Stephen O'Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, said: We are pleased to announce this agreement with Pierce. We chose Pierce due to their team's experience in working with large corporates and major retailers across Asia.

"Their leadership team have a track record of corporate deal making in the complex Asian market and an extensive regional network. We believe partnering with Pierce is an important step in accessing the large and growing Chinese and Hong Kong health market.

"We hope the combination of our strong science, growing global brands, and Pierce's local knowledge and expertise will help bring the benefits of SlimBiome and LPLDL to China's 350m obese and 290m patients with cardiovascular disease . We believe working with Pierce, and similar partners around the world, provides the best opportunity of increasing our global commercial reach and catering for the growing interest we are seeing in our products from partners worldwide."

York-based firm Optibiotix enters three year deal to help Chinese people lose weight