Florida-based biotechnology company Oragenics, Inc., (OTCBB:ORNI) (www.oragenics.com) and RICCI PHARMA (www.riccipharma.com), a recognized health products company with offices in Rome and Slovakia, have entered into a distribution agreement that the parties anticipate will provide Oragenics' proprietary oral care probiotic products, EvoraPlus® and EvoraKidsTM, to RICCI PHARMA. RICCI PHARMA will have exclusive distribution rights through Duc in Altum, a foundation whose humanitarian projects are inspired by the social teachings of the late Pope John Paul II. Duc in Altum's honorary chairman is the Polish Pope's former private secretary for over 30 years, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, currently Archbishop of Krakow. The foundation, whose projects are known by the Holy See and encouraged by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is expected to further promote Oragenics' products with the Church's capillary network of health services as well as with international organizations such as the United Nations (www.un.org), UNESCO (www.unesco.org), UNICEF (www.unicef.org), World Health Organization (www.who.int), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (www.fao.org) in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean.
As part of its distribution agreement with Oragenics, RICCI PHARMA is also expected to exclusively distribute EvoraPlus® and EvoraKids™ to the Association of Physicians National Health Service in Slovakia and the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors across Italy. RICCI PHARMA will also serve as distributor of EvoraPlus® and EvoraKids™ to independent pharmacies in Belarus, the Baltic States, Romania, Albania, Russia and Poland. The distribution agreement provides for RICCI PHARMA to make periodic minimum purchases.
"We are both proud and excited to forge this important alliance with RICCI PHARMA, in order to have access to the Duc in Altum Foundation and the world's most prominent healthcare organizations to bring Oragenics' probiotic oral care products to adults and children in areas throughout the world where there is a need for better oral care. Through these global healthcare initiatives, we look forward to having a positive impact on the pressing oral care needs of millions the world over," said David B. Hirsch, Oragenics' Chief Executive Officer.
"With its work in oral care probiotics, Oragenics is blazing a new trail in improving oral care - one that is gaining the attention of such major global champions of healthcare as the Vatican and the Duc in Altum Foundation and such leading health organizations as the United Nations, World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Food and Agriculture Organization. In our opinion, EvoraPlus® and EvoraKids™ will have a major impact on global dental healthcare delivery, and is also a very important tool to provide an alternative for oral care in countries of the third and fourth world where it is almost impossible to intervene effectively to improve overall dental health, thereby addressing one of the biggest healthcare issues faced by these populations," said Dr. Stefano Calamita, Chief Executive Officer of RICCI PHARMA.
Michael J. Hopf, Director of International Sales, and Gerry David, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products Group, represented Oragenics in negotiating the agreement with RICCI PHARMA.
EvoraPlus® (www.evoraplus.com) offers a breakthrough application of probiotics, which have traditionally been used to support digestive and immune health. EvoraPlus® probiotics are specifically designed for complete oral care. The industry's first 100% natural, all-in-one oral care probiotic mint, EvoraPlus® gently whitens teeth and helps alleviate bad breath while supporting gum and tooth health.
EvoraKids™ (www.evorakids.com) is the first probiotic-based, all-natural oral care chewable created to promote oral health for children 3 to 10 years old.
The application of probiotics in oral care was developed by Dr. Jeffrey D. Hillman, D.M.D., Ph.D., and Chief Scientific Officer at Oragenics, Inc., during his more than 25 years of research in oral biology, which began at the Harvard-affiliated Forsyth Institute in Boston and continued at the University of Florida. Through his research, Dr. Hillman found three strains of beneficial bacteria that help maintain an optimal balance of beneficial bacteria in the mouth, naming the patent-pending blend ProBiora3®, the active ingredient in EvoraPlus® and EvoraKids™.
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