BLT - Blis Technologies

[pierre]

The BLT half-year report is well worth reading.

http://blis.co.nz/resources/investor...annual-report/

The company is on target to achieve an increase of over 100% in revenue for the current FY. Expect to exceed $5.3m sales and to post a modest surplus pre EBITDA.

A few key points:

* Ingredient Sales by North American & European distributors are increasing
* Distributor for Japan starting to provide steady ingredient order flow
* Developing Blis branded consumer products internationally
* Increasing consumer product sales into Australia - product launches planned for 2016
* South East Asia and Japan offer immediate opportunities for sales of branded products
* Consumer products successfully launched into Poland, Romania and Greece. Further product launches within Europe well advanced.

No sales action yet in China due to complex and challenging regulatory issues - plenty of potential there but yet to be achieved.

The report is full of generally positive news and indicates that BLT is really getting on a roll. I cant help feeling the full FY16 forecast is probably quite conservative.

After many false starts and a few stumbles the future for BLT is looking very bright. Once the China issues are overcome it will be all go!

[simla]

Yes, it sure is a whole new ballgame now, which is great. But it might be a couple of years yet before we really know what that ballgame is. Still, as Gr8day points out, the share price might be quite different by then too.

[Sgt Pepper]

Yes, it sure is a whole new ballgame now, which is great. But it might be a couple of years yet before we really know what that ballgame is. Still, as Gr8day points out, the share price might be quite different by then too.

As a long term shareholder I am interested in others opinions of this company. do you think it has the potential to be another Comvita?

[simla]

I wish I knew, hence my comment of needing to wait a couple of years. The potential is certainly good, but reality has a way of intervening, and industries face problems (look at dairy.) Also, Comvita hasn't happened overnight. I remain cautiously optimistic though.

However, my maths on adjusting the Comvita EPS from the 39m CVT issued shares to 1102m BLT shares suggests that the CVT EPS of 44 cents would come out at just 1.5 cents for BLT. So I guess it depends what you mean by "another Comvita". (I assume you know that a previous CEO at Comvita is on the BLT board.)

1.5 cents per share on 1102m shares is a 16m profit by my maths, by the way. Definitely possible, I would have said. Will it happen? Don't know. When? Don't know.

Sorry, but we've reached a point we've wanted in quite a while, which is effectively break even and a seemingly assured future for the company. Excellent. But now we can't know how this will play out next - in my opinion, anyway. Others may see things otherwise.

Discl: Shareholder.

[emearg]

And now from BLT "Preliminary results from a field trial in the Eastern Bay of Plenty using BLIS K12 probiotic presented to the Paediatric Society of New Zealand yesterday indicated that a one month course of BLIS K12 probiotic achieves a useful, greater decrease in both Group A Streptococcal (GAS) carriage and GAS sore throats than antibiotics alone. Further analysis of the results are being undertaken and presented early next year."

They are a bit light on info so here ya go:

ONE MONTH OF BLIS PROBIOTIC DECREASES STREP CARRIAGE AND SORE THROATS IN
SCHOOLS
Sandra Ball1
, Pareake O’Brien2
, Melissa Bennett1
, Tui Edwards2
, John Malcolm3
, Nevil Pierse4
1
Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance, Whakatane
2
Te Tohu o Te Ora o Ngati Awa, Whakatane
3
Whakatane Hospital, Bay of Plenty District Health Board
4
Wellington Clinical School, University of Otago, Wellington
Background
In endemic NZ Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) areas, Group A Streptococcal (GAS) carriage is high, seasonal and recurrent. Kawerau
Schools sore throat swabbing programmes parallel significantly declining GAS carriage1
, 22% to 12%, further to 6% with skin
sepsis interventions, alongside ARF decline. Ten day Antibiotic courses are taken for GAS sore throats. We found in Kawerau a
probiotic with Bacteria Salivarius with bacteriocin like inhibitory substances, Blis K12, taken for one month significantly (p< 0.001)
decreases2
GAS sore throat recurrence by 86% comparing three months pre Blis and 3/12 following.
Methods
In the winter of 2015, a one month course of Blis was offered to 500 Whakatane primary school pupils, supervised 5 days/ week,
in 3 schools with mainly Maori pupils. A stepped wedge design meant delaying one school’s Blis intervention by one month
(control group) so that the extent of decline in GAS carriage and GAS sore throats before and after was known. Subsequent throat
swabs 3 and 4 months later established the duration of protection. Where GAS was present in the baseline or follow-up swabs a
10 day course of once daily oral amoxicillin was prescribed3
and delivered, unless the child was penicillin allergic, in which case
alternatives from NHF4
and MOH guidelines were prescribed.
Results
Of 500 eligible pupils, after consultation with School Principals, Parents, Boards of Trustees and Ethics approval, 60% i.e. 300
pupils assented and their parents consented. Blis was well accepted for its taste and palatability. The 1/12 post Blis change in
treatment schools pupils GAS carriage (27 to10%) 63% drop, compares to (24 to 16%) 33% drop for the control school. Duration
of protection will be assessed
Conclusion
A one month course of Blis K12 probiotic achieves a useful, greater decrease in both GAS carriage and GAS sore throats than
antibiotics alone.
References
1. Ball S, et al. Pharyngeal Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Throat prevalence declines with school based sore throat swabbing, “ Kiri
Ora”Healthy Skin Programme and appears to parallel decilining Acute Rheumatic Fever ARF in ASID in Aotearoa March 2015. Auckland New
Zealand.
2. Bennett M, et al., Blis K12 stops Kawerau Group A Strep School Sore throat recurrences, in Bay of Plenty DHB Clinical Research Awards.
2014: Tauranga.
3. Lennon D, et al., Once-daily amoxicillin versus twice-daily penicillinV in group A B-haemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis. Arch Dis Child
2008. 93: p. 474-478.
4. Lennon D, et al., New Zealand Guidelines for Rheumatic Fever; Group A Streptococcal Sore Throat Management; Guideline 2014 update.



BLIS K12 LESSENS KAWERAU GROUP A STREPTOCOCCUS SCHOOL SORE THROAT
RECURRENCES
John Malcolm1
, Sandra Ball2
, Melissa Bennett3
, Liisa Wana3
, Nevil Pierse4
1
Paediatrics Service Whakatane Hospital BOPDHB
2
Eastern BOP PHA Rh Fever team Clinical Lead
3
Eastern BOP PHA Rh Fever team
4
Wellington Clinical School, Otago Medical School
Many Children in the EBPHA run Kawerau Schools Acute Rheumatic Fever Prevention project get recurrent Group A Streptococcus
(GAS) sore throats; (EBPHA has worked with the 1400 Kawerau school children since 2010). Approximately 14% of Kawerau
school children’s GAS infections are to children having 3 or more episodes in a year, many needing multiple courses of antibiotics
each year. Recurrent GAS sore throats occur despite the MOH NZ Primary Care Handbook 2012 recommended second line
antibiotics for when three recurrences have occurred in three months. Parents and children understandably question antibiotic
efficacy when this occurs. Because GAS sore throats sometimes cause ARF, with Rheumatic Heart disease often following,
effective GAS treatment is important.
Blis (Bacteriocin like inhibitory substances) K12 lozenges are a probiotic with Streptococcus salivarius with 2 exotoxins which
combat GAS growth; It has recently been used in three Whakatane schools in a EBPHA Te Tohu o Te Ora o Ngati Awa one month
trial checking the impact on GAS carriage and duration of subsequent protection. This Kawerau study focused on Blis use for
recurrent GAS, particularly on subsequent protection following a short one month course following the recommended antibiotic.
When Blis K12 lozenges, were taken for one month by Kawerau children n 23 , GAS sore throats did not recur for many months;
Twenty three children had 58 episodes in the 3 months prior to its use and 8 episodes in the three months to follow, significantly
86% fewer, ( P<0.001). Our results show that a short one month course Blis K12 has high acceptance, is highly effective
preventing GAS recurrences for at least 3-4 months and decreases antibiotic need.
Blis K12 may be an effective one month treatment following appropriate antibiotics for those with recurrent GAS; A larger RCT for
recurrent GAS is proposed.

[simla]

Hard to read! Was this the main point maybe:

Twenty three children had 58 episodes in the 3 months prior to its use and 8 episodes in the three months to follow, significantly
86% fewer, ( P<0.001). Our results show that a short one month course Blis K12 has high acceptance, is highly effective
preventing GAS recurrences for at least 3-4 months and decreases antibiotic need.

And:

Recurrent GAS sore throats occur despite the MOH NZ Primary Care Handbook 2012 recommended second line
antibiotics for when three recurrences have occurred in three months. Parents and children understandably question antibiotic
efficacy when this occurs.

If I was the government, I'd be pretty keen on that. "high acceptance" is good, but I wonder if there is room here for the Blis functional food method, since it's for kids - even the ice cream!! If the results are that good, will we be seeing an announcement soon of an escalation of use? Or will the wheels that have to turn just carry on turning anyway? I imagine the parents will be pretty keen to rip into it regardless.

John Tagg must be pretty pleased with that result.

Thanks, Emearg.

[simla]

Going back to the overall state of the company, consider this. Revenue of $5.3m is $100k per week, or $14k a day, or $590 an hour, $10 a minute. So it is now at the stage that someone is buying Blis somewhere every minute of every day really. Someone must have bought some while I wrote this. Not bad. Check the maths, but it seems right.

[emearg]

Hard to read! Was this the main point maybe:

Twenty three children had 58 episodes in the 3 months prior to its use and 8 episodes in the three months to follow, significantly
86% fewer, ( P<0.001). Our results show that a short one month course Blis K12 has high acceptance, is highly effective
preventing GAS recurrences for at least 3-4 months and decreases antibiotic need.

And:

Recurrent GAS sore throats occur despite the MOH NZ Primary Care Handbook 2012 recommended second line
antibiotics for when three recurrences have occurred in three months. Parents and children understandably question antibiotic
efficacy when this occurs.

If I was the government, I'd be pretty keen on that. "high acceptance" is good, but I wonder if there is room here for the Blis functional food method, since it's for kids - even the ice cream!! If the results are that good, will we be seeing an announcement soon of an escalation of use? Or will the wheels that have to turn just carry on turning anyway? I imagine the parents will be pretty keen to rip into it regardless.

John Tagg must be pretty pleased with that result.

Thanks, Emearg.

Yes the formatting went to hell in a hand basket!

Originals can be found in this:
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2...book_final.pdf

[simla]

You know, that really was an exceptionally good trial result. The company must be stoked with that outcome. Hard to say what monetary value it has for BLT, since most people don't get rheumatic fever, but a pretty good outcome for the medical community, I would have thought.

[GR8DAY]

.......from what Ive briefly read there is also a strong connection between tooth decay and damage to heart valves. If this indeed prooves to be the case then BLIS technology could once again be used to treat this deadly condition. Just the thought of a decaying tooth may be enough for every potential sufferer (that's anyone with teeth) to "REACH FOR THE BLIS"!! Healthy bacteria (probiotics) may indeed save mankind from the death trap of antibiotic overuse and abuse.....the worldwide phenomena now gathering steam.....and Probiotics should start in the oral cavity and go from there. We are bacteria.....good and bad.......strengthen the good and enjoy good health. SIMPLE. BLIS.