NuMe Health Advances its Cobiotics(TM) Technology With Addition of Scientific Advisory Board and Filing of Patent Application for First Product

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NuMe Health LLC, a biotechnology company developing evidence-based cobiotic products designed to prevent disease and improve disease status by modifying the bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, today announced the formation of its scientific advisory board (SAB). NuMe’s SAB includes distinguished experts from academia and industry in the fields of nutrition, diabetes, obesity, health promoting foods and the human microbiome. NuMe also announced that the company has filed a patent application covering a proprietary formulation of its first cobiotic product, NM504, which is being developed for the prediabetic population.

NM504 is designed to help prediabetic individuals achieve and maintain normal blood glucose levels and a healthy body weight by altering the GI microbiota, which includes the trillions of bacteria resident in the human GI system, along with its environment. NM504 contains a blend of ingredients that can alter the composition of the GI microbiota in specific ways that promote improved control of glucose levels for prediabetics with unhealthy weight. It acts by stimulating certain bacteria that inhibit appetite signals and stimulate satiety signals and also by inhibiting the ability of other bacteria to capture energy from undigested fat and protein and convert them into calories that are absorbed by the body.

The patent filing covers the composition, manufacture and delivery of NM504.

The NuMe SAB members include:

• George C. Fahey, Jr., PhD, professor emeritus of animal sciences and the Kraft Foods endowed professor emeritus of nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is an expert in comparative nutrition, the health of the GI tract and the role of carbohydrates in affecting nutrition and gut health. Dr. Fahey has authored over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles and is the recipient of numerous awards, including most recently the 2011 General Mills Institute of Health and Nutrition Innovation Award from the American Society for Nutrition.
• John Finley, PhD, professor and head of the Food Science Department, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, is an expert in the development of reduced calorie ingredients and modified lipids. Previously, Dr. Finley held positions at Kraft Foods and Monsanto, and he led the Fundamental Science program at Nabisco. Dr. Finley has authored over 100 technical publications, edited 11 books and holds over 50 patents.
• Vivian A. Fonseca, MD, FRCP, professor of medicine, the Tullis-Tulane alumni chair in diabetes, and chief of the Section of Endocrinology at Tulane University Medical Center, is an expert in the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications and risk factor reduction in cardiovascular disease. Dr. Fonseca is currently president-elect for Science and Medicine of the American Diabetes Association. He has published over 200 papers, review articles and book chapters and was editor in chief of Diabetes Care from 2007 until 2011.
• Frank Greenway, MD, is professor and director of outpatient clinical research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, an affiliate of Louisiana State University that is renowned for its clinical research in obesity and metabolic diseases. He has a particular interest in the creation of novel foods and nutraceuticals. Dr. Greenway has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and more than 30 book chapters, and he recently received the Steelman-Seim award for teaching from the American Society of Bariatric Physicians.
• Richard S. Lord, PhD, chief science officer of Metametrix Clinical Laboratory, is an expert in clinical laboratory medicine. His current research interests include quantitative assessments of the human microbiome by DNA-based methods and their integration with microbial metabolomic information. Dr. Lord was a professor and chairman in the Department of Chemistry at Life University. He has co-authored and edited a number of books and technical papers, and he received The Magic Foundation for Children’s Growth, Outstanding Medical Service Award.

“Our patent application for NM504 and the establishment of our SAB are important milestones for NuMe Health as we work to accelerate the development and launch of our first cobiotic product,” said Dean P. Stull, PhD, chief executive officer of NuMe Health. “NM504 is intended to provide a safe, effective and clinically validated option for the millions people at risk of developing diabetes.”

Dr. Stull continued, “We are very pleased to welcome the members of our Scientific Advisory Board to the NuMe team. We expect this diverse group of distinguished advisors will provide valuable guidance as we advance NM504 and our pipeline of novel cobiotic products that leverage our expanding knowledge of how the human microbiome affects human health and disease.”

NuMe’s cobiotics are designed to encourage healthy bacteria, discourage unhealthy bacteria and create a healthy GI environment. Cobiotics are combinations of food components that we cannot digest but that act to control the GI microbiota and its environment in specific beneficial ways. Cobiotics also contain other components to help provide an optimal GI environment conducive for health.

NuMe’s initial cobiotic products are derived from bioactive ingredients in edible plants that promote the growth of specific beneficial bacteria with the potential to positively affect metabolic conditions. NuMe’s cobiotic products are evidence-based and are being developed using rigorous scientific methods, including human clinical studies, to assess and validate their health claims.

About NuMe Health

NuMe Health is a biotechnology company that intends to develop and market unique, proprietary, evidence-based cobiotic consumer products designed to prevent disease and improve disease status by modifying the bacteria populations that live in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Cobiotics are combinations of food components that we cannot digest that act to control the GI microbiota and its environment. NuMe’s first cobiotic product, NM504, which is being developed using rigorous scientific methods and clinical testing, will initially target prediabetes. Future products will target conditions involving metabolism and the maintenance of healthy body weight. For more information, visit www.numehealth.com.

SOURCE NuMe Health