OPKO Health, Inc. Invests in ChromaDex® Corp.

Download as PDF

ChromaDex Grants OPKO Marketing Rights for Latin America

MIAMI & IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OPKO Health, Inc. (NYSE: OPK) and ChromaDex Corporation (OTCBB: CDXC) announced today they have entered into a strategic alliance pursuant to which ChromaDex has licensed to OPKO all of its new product offerings and health care technologies for distribution and business development throughout all of Latin America. The initial products to be commercialized are BlūScience™ (www.bluscience.com), ChromaDex's recently launched line of dietary supplements, as well as ChromaDex's proprietary pterostilbene, branded as pTeroPure® (www.pteropure.com). OPKO recently made a $1,000,000 investment in ChromaDex as a participant in a private placement of 4,993,329 shares of ChromaDex common stock.

Dr. Phillip Frost, OPKO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "This new agreement with ChromaDex will utilize OPKO’s extensive marketing and sales experience in Latin America to commercialize ChromaDex's products and technologies throughout the region. We are enthusiastic about pTeroPure®, one of the most promising natural ingredients to be introduced in some time, as it will help with OPKO’s strategy of introducing interesting new products in rapidly growing markets.”

Commenting on the announcement, Jeffrey Himmel, CEO of ChromaDex stated, “Partnering with OPKO provides a unique opportunity for ChromaDex. OPKO’s resources and capabilities in Latin America make it an ideal partner. We see Latin America as a bright spot with great long-term economic prospects. The alliance with OPKO is the perfect platform to exploit our new product offerings and healthcare technologies.”

ChromaDex recently launched BlūScience™ (www.bluscience.com), an innovative line of dietary supplements. The novel ingredient in BlūScience™ is pterostilbene, branded as pTeroPure® (www.pteropure.com), named the 2010 North American Most Promising Ingredient of the Year by the independent research company, Frost & Sullivan. pTeroPure® is a proprietary, nature-identical formulation of the antioxidant compound pterostilbene, found naturally in blueberries. Pterostilbene has superior biological activity, better oral bioavailability and is metabolized more slowly in the body than other polyphenols (antioxidant phytochemicals that tend to prevent or neutralize the damaging effects of free radicals), allowing more time for its antioxidant activities to act. Pterostilbene has shown promise for supporting cardiovascular health, cognitive function and anti-aging*. However, the amount of pterostilbene present in a typical serving of blueberries is a tiny fraction of the amount needed to realize its benefits.

About OPKO Health:

OPKO is a multi-national biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company that seeks to establish industry-leading positions in large and rapidly growing medical markets by leveraging its discovery, development and commercialization expertise and novel and proprietary technologies.

About ChromaDex®:

ChromaDex, Inc. is an innovative natural products company that provides proprietary, science-based solutions and ingredients to the dietary supplement, food & beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The company has an expanding pipeline of new ingredients, including its pTeroPure® pterostilbene for which it has worldwide, exclusive patent rights pending. The company recently launched its BlūScience™ line of dietary supplements, now available at Drugstore.com. Capitalizing on the diverse potential applications of the product, ChromaDex is also developing pTeroPure for the skincare and pharmaceutical markets, among others. pTeroPure is currently being studied in a human clinical trial at the University of Mississippi.

For more information about pTeroPure visit www.pteropure.com or call 949-600-9694.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Any statements that are not historical facts contained in this release are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), which statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates," and other words of similar meaning, including statements regarding the anticipated benefits, biological activity and opportunities and promise related to ChromaDex’s suite of products and technologies, including pTeroPure®. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements. These factors include those described in the companies' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and risks inherent in funding, developing and obtaining regulatory approvals of new, commercially-viable and competitive products and treatments. In addition, forward-looking statements may also be adversely affected by general market factors, competitive product development, product availability, federal and state regulations and legislation, the regulatory process for new products and indications, manufacturing issues that may arise, patent positions and litigation, among other factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were made, and the companies do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. We intend that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

OPKO Health, Inc. Contact:
Steve Rubin, 305-575-6015
or
ChromaDex Investor Contact:.
Liviakis Financial Communications, Inc.
John M. Liviakis, 415-389-4670
President
John@Liviakis.com
or
Institutions and Analysts Contact:
The Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc.
Robert B. Prag, 858-794-9500
President
bprag@delmarconsulting.com
or
ChromaDex / BluScience Contact:
Jeffrey Himmel, 949-419-0288
CEO
jsh@chromadex.com

Source: OPKO Health, Inc.

Released February 15, 2012