Bened Biomedical Grants Exclusive Rights for PS128™ to M8 Pharmaceuticals

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Dec 08, 2020, 09:00 ET

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- M8 Pharmaceuticals (formerly moksha8), announced that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with the probiotics company Bened Biomedical Co., Ltd., an award winning spin-out from Taiwan National Yang-Ming University, to develop evidence-based functional probiotics that can alter human microbiome. The agreement focused on Brazil & Mexico secures M8 exclusive rights to market PS128™, a psychobiotic with several completed as well as ongoing clinical studies, for mental and neurological disorders. In the last decades, several studies have shown a crosstalk within the brain-gut-microbiome axis and the way gut and brain communicate. This occurs through the dynamic population of microorganisms (the gut microbiome) colonizing the gastrointestinal tract, producing metabolites, and interacting with the enteric nervous system and with the central nervous system. The patented PS128™, a unique Lactobacillus plantarum strain, is the world's only probiotic scientifically proven to increase dopamine and serotonin in the brain, which can help reduce symptoms of stress, depression, autism, and Parkinson's syndrome.

Brazil and Mexico are the two largest economies in Latin America; accounting for 63% of the region's pharmaceutical market and reaching a +10.3% and 7.3% respectively growth rate from 2019 to 2020 Q1. Also, worthy of mention is that CNS therapeutics occupy a considerable portion of the pharmaceutical market in Latin America, accounting for $5.3 billion in 2019. The region is one of the high potential emerging markets identified for Bened Biomedical to expand its global presence with its unique psychobiotics portfolio. This will be M8's first launch of a probiotic product, expanding the company's portfolio of marketed products focused on the central nervous system area.

Joel Barlan, CEO of M8 said: "We are delighted to partner with Bened to bring a novel psychobiotic to market. Our goal is to continue to raise the standards of mental health care, and we continue to be committed to bringing innovative product to Latin American patients. We are well aware of the unmet needs in this area, and our mission is to continue to positively impact the lives and improve the mental health of patients in Brazil & Mexico"

Mr. Frankie Cheng, CEO of Bened Biomedical commented: "We are very honored to partner with a market leader in pharmaceuticals like M8 to bring PS128™ to those who suffer from the psychological and neurological disorders in Latin America. Combining the market power and reputation of M8 with the efficacy of psychobiotic PS128™, which is already proven in more than 30 countries, we trust that the partnership will effectively benefit the people in the regions. The int'l team led by Alain Delpy, Head of Int'l Business Development, will continue to assist M8 to fully develop the CNS market".

About Bened Biomedical

Bened Biomedical Co., Ltd. was founded in 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan, as a spin-out company from National Yang-Ming University (NYMU). It focuses on advanced technologies and products in microbiome-based therapy for neuropsychological, allergic, immunological, metabolic, and aging-related disorders. A milestone has been successfully completed to demonstrate the efficacy of Psychobiotic PS128, along with a series of upcoming clinical studies scheduled across both human and animal health application. Our vision is to develop functional probiotic strains that can alter human microbiome to prevent and treat human diseases.

For more information, please visit: http://benedbiomed.com/en

About M8 Pharmaceuticals

m8 is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on licensing, marketing and distributing innovative and established therapeutics in the two largest Latin America markets: Brazil and Mexico. m8 is a Montreux Equity Partners portfolio company. Montreux Equity Partners is a private investment firm focused on making growth capital investments in the leading companies of tomorrow. Its portfolio companies address the most compelling trends in global health. The firm is currently investing out of its sixth fund.

For more information, please visit: www.moksha8.com

For more information please contact:

Joel Barlan
Chief Executive Officer
T: +52 (55) 4431 2933
[email protected]

Rafael Ferrer
Vice President of Corporate Development
T: +1 (305) 299 6998
[email protected]

SOURCE m8 Pharmaceuticals