YBG vs. the competition:

If you go to the BioAgra website and click on ``Information``, you have the option of selecting the PowerPoint slides entitled ``YBG Study``. Slide 6 is entitled ``Macrophage Respiratory Burst (H202) Assay YBG vs. the Competition.

The graph compares YBG with 2 products. The first is pure beta glucan. The second is Zymosan, a less refined product that contains beta glucan. The third is not identified on this slide, but based on the PBI patent application documents, was MacroGard. YBG performed better, by far, than the competition, and ultimately as well as pure beta glucan.

The ``scientific research`` button on the BioAgra website brings up a swine study that was independently done by Progressive BioActives in conjucntion with the University of Prince Edward Island. The beneficial effects of YBG on swine and broilers have been independently verified by PharmaGap of Ottaw, Onterio, a spin-off of the National Research Council of Canada. The beta glucan used in the swine study posted by RW was of a similar grade as YBG.

The current price per kilo that is being charged by our nearest competitor (independently verified by my asking the competitor) is $175/kilo for the domestic market. This product, from what I can determine, is somewhat inferior to YBG in purity. Prices are higher for export.

As for competition coming into the market....

1) There are currently a limited number of scientists of the caliber that would be able to oversee and improve upon production of YBG. Most of them are currently working.

2) The demand for a substitute for anti-microbial growth enhancers is very real and urgent.*

3) The poultry market is huge.

4) Beta Glucan has been shown to be effective in increasing the natural immune system`s resistance to virus.

5) Avian influenza virus is currently the single most serious threat to both the poultry and the human population of the earth.

I believe there will shortly be plenty of room for a bit of competition, and we`ll still have difficulty meeting the demand. That, of course, is just my honest, though educated, opinion.

Best regards,

-zties

*The UDSA Food Safety Research Information Office (NP108) has identified the emergence of antimicrobial resistance among food-borne and commensal bacteria associated with food animal production and its effect on human health to be an important global issue. The USDA has made this issue a priority for their 2006-2010 action plan.