Provexis has developed and licensed Fruitflow® a patented, scientifically-proven tomato extract which inhibits platelet aggregation, a known cause of heart attack, stroke and venous thrombosis. The syrup and powder versions of Fruitflow® are GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) in the US and are not regarded as Novel Foods in the EU, clearing them for wide use in foods, beverages and supplements.

In May 2009 the company’s Fruitflow® technology was the first to be substantiated by the European Food Safety Authority (‘EFSA’) under the new Article 13(5) for proprietary and emerging science, and in December 2009 the European Commission authorised the health claim ‘Helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow’.

Provexis entered into a long-term Alliance Agreement with DSM Nutritional Products (‘DSM’) in 2010 to commercialise Fruitflow through sales as an ingredient to brand owners in the food, beverage and dietary supplement categories. More than 100 regional consumer healthcare brands have now been launched by direct customers of DSM, and a number of further regional brands have been launched through DSM’s distributor channels.

Fruitflow® was launched in Europe in November 2010 at the Health Ingredients Europe Conference in Madrid, where it was awarded the overall award for ‘Most Innovative Health Ingredient’ and won the best innovation in the ‘Heart Health’ category.

Fruitflow® was launched in the US in March 2011 at the Natural Products Expo West Nutracon trade show in Anaheim, California, and it was awarded ‘Best New Ingredient’ at the NutrAwards held at the show.

In 2012 Fruitflow® was named one of the most innovative products of the year at the Food Ingredients South America trade show.

Fruitflow® in powder format was officially launched by DSM at the Vitafoods exhibition in Geneva in May 2013. The powder version is suitable for use in a wide range of products including soft gels, capsules, tablets and stick packs, enabling manufacturers to target a broader consumer base.

In June 2016 Provexis launched a high quality dietary supplement product containing Fruitflow® and Omega-3 which is available to purchase from the Company’s subscription focused e-commerce website www.fruitflowplus.com, Amazon UK and Holland & Barrett.

In June 2022 Provexis announced it had secured two new agreements with DSM for Fruitflow, to replace the Alliance Agreement: (i) a Transfer of Business agreement and (ii) a Premix and Market-Ready Solutions supply agreement, which both took effect on 1 January 2023. DSM’s existing and prospective customers for Fruitflow as a straight ingredient transferred to become direct customers of Provexis from 1 January 2023, and Provexis took over the outsourced supply chain / production process for Fruitflow at that time.

Fruitflow has a number of specific health benefits which have been reflected in separate patent filings for the use of Fruitflow in:

• mitigating exercise-induced inflammation;
• managing blood pressure;
• protecting against the adverse effects of air pollution on the body’s cardiovascular system. Laboratory work has shown that Fruitflow can reduce the platelet activation caused by airborne particulate matter, such as that from diesel emissions, by approximately one third; and
• conferring health benefits in modulating the gut microbiome of humans, to include a reduction in TMAO, following the completion of a successful human study which is further detailed at www.dsm.com/human-nutrition/en/talking-nutrition/press-releases/2023-01-20-new-study-reveals-dsms-fruitflow-activates-gut-heart.html.

A new partnership was agreed with DSM in June 2022 relating to the commercialisation of the gut microbiome patent, subject to certain milestones which have been agreed between the parties.

In November 2021 Provexis entered into a long-term supply and distribution agreement for Fruitflow with BYHEALTH Co., Ltd. (‘BYHEALTH’), a £2bn listed Chinese dietary supplement business, to support the planned launch of some Fruitflow based products in the Chinese market. The planned launch is progressing well with potential sales volumes remaining at a significant multiple of existing Fruitflow sales.

BYHEALTH has been working on an extensive regulatory submission to the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation (the ‘SAMR’) seeking to establish a new permitted health function claim for foods such as Fruitflow that can demonstrate an anti-platelet effect.

In August 2023 the SAMR announced in China that the ‘Implementation Rules for Health Food New Functions and Product Technology Evaluation’ had been agreed by the SAMR in June 2023, and on 29 August 2023 BYHEALTH submitted: i) the first application under the Implementation Rules, seeking to obtain a new permitted health function claim for foods such as Fruitflow which help to ‘maintain normal platelet aggregation function and benefit blood flow health’; and ii) some related product registration applications.

BYHEALTH has noted that it has been working on the project since 2015, with ‘tens of millions of funds’ (RMB) invested by BYHEALTH in the research and development work.

A video showing how Fruitflow® prevents unwanted blood clots is available to watch on YouTube here.

A DSM press release announcing the completion of a successful human study showing how Fruitflow® confers health benefits in modulating the gut microbiome can be seen here.