YORK life sciences business OptiBiotix has been awarded funding towards a range of new inventions aimed at tackling obesity.

The firm, which creates supplements to manage cholesterol, harvest energy and suppress appetite from its base at York Science Park, has been working with IP firm Appleyard Leeds on patent protections.

Appleyard Lees prepared and filed an initial suite of five patent applications, two of which were funded by its Growth Fund initiative.

Although details of the pending applications cannot be disclosed, the inventions should result in products that assist the health and wellness industry tackle weight management and reduce cholesterol.

All five patent applications underwent due diligent investigation as part of OptiBiotix's listing on AIM last year, which now has a share value to £25 million.

Stephen O’Hara, chief executive at OptiBiotix said: "It was great to work with Appleyard Lees on the patent applications as their knowledge and expertise in the field is vast.

"The Growth Fund is a great initiative as it assists companies who are looking to protect intellectual property, and for us this is incredibly important as we are constantly developing.

"Filing each application was vital before we floated on the stock market as it demonstrates that OptiBiotix is an attractive and worthwhile investment."

With offices in Leeds, Manchester and Halifax, Appleyard Lees launched the annual fund of £50,000 in 2012 in order to support innovation and growth of businesses with winning ideas, a track record for innovation and a sound strategic approach.

Simon Bradbury, head of Life Sciences at Appleyard Lees, said: "OptiBiotix is a ground-breaking company within the health industry with an exciting line-up of innovative products and their patent protection will no doubt help to strengthen and position the company as the market leader.

"While the primary function of patents is to provide protection for innovations, they can also add significantly to company valuations and can be a prerequisite for investors who like to see that their investment is safeguarded against competitors.

"Their continued focus on solid research, which is being protected by an expanding IP portfolio seems to be paying off and their share price has more than quadrupled since their originally listing."

OptiBiotix is working toward launching its first mass marked product after developing a supplement which, in laboratory testing, showed a reduction in cholesterol of between 71 per cent and 82 per cent by reducing the amount to cholesterol produced by the body, rather than blocking ingested cholesterol as with other competing products on the market.