OptiBiotix Health PLC
Credibility Crisis: One CEO’s Guide to Burning Bridges and Rewriting History
By Elric Langton | 22 June 2025
I, Mike, and Alex have a financial interest in OptiBiotix Health.
Note: that all links are open-source material.
It is regrettable—though hardly surprising—that Stephen O’Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix Health, continues to mislead his investors with lies such as this one posted on the LSE: “Soh says he cut Elrico’s sponsorship so he turned against him.” What is more perplexing is the apparent belief that such fabrications would not be publicly challenged. Therefore, let’s return to the facts. This is not the first time I have encountered similar comments aimed at tarnishing our reputation, credibility, and integrity, but it is the first time it has been posted publicly.
We are not alone when it comes to integrity destruction: “Soh says TW wanted his wife as a non exec director and TW’s mate as Chairman. Soh said no so TW turned against him.”
As for Tom Winnifrith, he explains, “I turned against the board and wanted cheap honest NEDs, i did not turn against O’Hara when he said hed stand by the incumbents who are expensive scumbags.”
As reported by Shareprophets
It's a curious form of self-sabotage by O’Hara, after nearly a decade of constructive engagement with us, known for fair and balanced reporting, suddenly decides to turn on us behind our back, fabricating tales behind the scenes to discredit our integrity. To suggest, falsely, that negative coverage only began after the withdrawal of sponsorship is not only laughable but demonstrably untrue, as we will demonstrate. The facts, which are inconvenient for spin doctors, show that critical commentary was delivered while the sponsorship was still in place, precisely because professionalism and integrity demand it. Attacking us behind the scenes via multiple sources for doing their job, especially one who has offered thoughtful analysis over many years, speaks volumes—not about the journalist’s integrity, but about the O’Hara state-of-mind, when leadership chooses to shoot the messenger instead of addressing the message, investors are right to wonder what else is being hidden.
I haven’t even considered Mike Caine’s editorials, some of which go back even further. Some of those are not exactly fluff pieces.
Is O’Hara spiralling out of control? It’s certainly not sound judgment. We were prepared to report as the news demanded, and not report negatively for its own sake. Similarly, readers would see right through it as well.
Regrettably, our reputation, honesty, and integrity are being challenged; therefore, I cannot and will not allow such flagrant manipulation of the facts to stand.
I’m sure the sceptic will assume we have edited past articles to suit—we haven’t. Readers will have original copies in their inbox... wouldn’t we look outrageously stupid, and all credibility would be blown apart?
We indeed lost our sponsorship, but this occurred after Alex's editorial on 12 May 2025.
As I’ll show, Alex had produced a number of updates containing critical, at times, unflattering observations. To O’Hara’s credit, he initially appeared unbothered. Perhaps he understood the value of balanced scrutiny; after all, credibility is a fragile thing, and without it, we’re of no use whatsoever in supporting the company’s long-term growth.
Somewhere along the way, O’Hara changed—we didn’t. We held to our principles and refused to let sponsorship dictate editorial integrity. Investors would have seen straight through that charade—and rightly so.
We’re fortunate to have an audience of discerning investors, many of whom actively welcome rigorous, fair critique. They know all too well that uncritical cheerleading is what leads to poor decision-making and, inevitably, losses. In contrast, honest analysis—even when it is uncomfortable—is what builds trust; our readers understand this, which is why they support us during difficult times. The votes, restacks, comments, and readership data support this.
On 18 October 2025, Alex wrote a “Rebuttal Response, within it, concerns a quote in the 10 October 2024 RNS was in fact a direct quote from O’Hara.
On 22 October: Corporate Governance
On 23 October, As if by magic...
In true style, Neil Davidson tackled the "speculation" around CEO Stephen O’Hara’s health with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, clarifying that O'Hara’s illness isn’t some wild rumour – it’s actually factual (as if O’Hara himself hadn’t already confirmed that in his own words). Nice touch, Neil; you’re only two weeks late, but let's leave the guessing games to the tabloids next time, shall we?
On 1 November 2024, Rumours and Financial Concerns
On 21 November 2024, Alex wrote: I feel an unavoidable weight pressing on me to address the troubling situation surrounding OptiBiotix Health. Once a company of considerable promise, it has now become mired in controversy and missteps. After much deliberation, I have made the difficult decision to sell my OptiBiotix Health shares, redirecting my investment into SkinBioTherapeutics. This choice is not made in haste but is driven by an accumulation of disturbing events that call into question the company's integrity and future viability.
My actions today will bite hard because they will lose sponsorships from OptiBiotix, which are not inconsequential. However, our collective integrity is far more important than a few grand.
Alex authored several articles raising legitimate concerns around corporate governance at OptiBiotix. These included what appeared to be a fabricated quote attributed to O’Hara—while he was in a coma, no less. You may recall the date: 10 October 2024. Alex also criticised the company's curious reluctance to be transparent about the gravity of Mr O’Hara’s condition. According to O’Hara himself—speaking to me directly—he wasn’t expected to survive the night.
Furthermore, Alex scrutinised the costly and chaotic legal dispute with ProBiotix, and rightly questioned the chairmanship during that saga. The fallout, however, came when Alex retracted an earlier apology regarding an alleged error about the US strategic investor, only to discover, hours later, that he had in fact been correct. The sponsorship was abruptly pulled. Cause and effect? You decide.
Naturally, Alex wasn’t going to let what can only be described as manipulative behaviour pass unchallenged. Anyone with a genuine interest in OptiBiotix’s trajectory would have seen that Alex’s critique was fair, grounded in evidence, and hardly excessive. There was no friction until he began asking awkward but necessary questions about the PIPE funding specialist, who, it seemed, had already offloaded a meaningful stake in OptiBiotix.
Once Alex realised O’Hara was more than willing for Alex to be the patsy, he, like a detective catching a villain in a lie, started looking more forensic at past events. It is perhaps this that O’Hara is allowing to cloud his judgement.
I also approached O’Hara, expressing concerns about what appeared to be a US company fraudulently using OptiBiotix’s name and brand, notably LeanBiome, in an official press release.
O’Hara confirmed so, without the company's knowledge or compensation. I did so during the sponsorship period. Sadly, almost three weeks have passed, and nothing has been done, potentially putting OptiBiotix’s name and brand at risk, both commercially and in terms of integrity.
Ultimately, the issue wasn’t the reporting—it was the refusal to let O’Hara control the narrative at a very critical period, where he must have felt he was under attack from two of his most prolific cheerleaders: Shareprohets and us. If he now wishes to initiate hostilities, he’s welcome to do so.
It is not in our interest to deliberately spin negative editorials; it damages our readers' investments, ours collectively, and by extension, friends and family members.
O’Hara, and by extension OptiBiotix, is spreading lies and attempting to discredit our business, professionalism, and integrity. All we have done is report the facts with honest opinions as shareholders and journalistic integrity, old school, as it should be, without fear or favour. When we get something wrong, we correct and apologise, which is an exceptional rare event.
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Regrettably our worst fears seem to be playing out in the public domain.
I cannot see how the Board at OPTI can turn this into a positive without engaging with sCC or Shareprophets ( or both) at some point. If that is the existing BoD or a new one remains to be seen.
The only other saving grace for OPTI is if a big contract or need flow materialises unexpectedly, but given we have been waiting 12 years for such the the chances are next to zero I would have thought.
Meanwhile, as it becomes apparent OPTI has been run fur the primary benefit of the Directors rather than shareholders, I wonder what quieries and untruths may unfold regarding the currently invisible Sweetbiotix where not even one photograph of the product exists to support its existence. It seems blatantly obvious what OPTI needs to showcase at the AGM, when they can be bothered to action it, and actually have some samples.