Cork company Alimentary Health has launched a new over-the-counter treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The "precision probiotic" product Alflorex uses the same probiotic culture that has proved commercially successful for Procter & Gamble in the US and Canada under the brand name Align after the consumer goods group licensed the technology from Alimentary Health in 2005 for that market.

Alimentary Health, headed by Dr Barry Kiely, is a leader in developing probiotics for gastrointestinal disorders and a founding member of the alimentary pharmabiotic centre at UCC.

The active probiotic culture – bifidobacterium infantis 35624 – was discovered in Cork, and proved to be safe and effective in studies of patients suffering from IBS. Alimentary Health says 10-15 per cent of Irish adults suffer from IBS.

Commenting on the launch of Alflorex in Ireland, Prof Eamonn Quigley, who is chief of division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas, said: “This is one of the few probiotic products which has been truly developed on a scientific basis and tested in high quality clinical studies.”