Nutraceuticals International articles from January 2004

Nutraceuticals International archives from January 2004

Red wine may protect against breast cancer.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Research conducted at City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles, USA, revealed that red wine contains a natural cancer-fighting chemical in the grape skin and seeds which may protect against breast cancer. The scientists isolated a...

Vitamin C lowers risk of stroke in smokers.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Dietary intake of the antioxidant vitamin C may be linked to a reduced risk of stroke, especially in smokers, according to a study published in the journal Neurology. People with the lowest levels of vitamin C in their diets were 30% more...

EGCG shows promise against HIV.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Scientists from the University of Tokyo, Japan, have reported the discovery of a component of green tea that can stop the spread of HIV, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The compound, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), was...

Ginkgo supplements may improve memory.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... At the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans, USA, results were presented by scientists from the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, demonstrating a significant improvement in verbal recall among people with age-related...

US FDA tells consumers: "stop buying ephedra-containing dietary supps now".
January 1, 2004... The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a consumer alert on the safety of dietary supplements containing ephedra. It has also sent 62 letters to firms marketing supplements containing ephedra and ephedrine alkaloid, notifying them of its...

Functional foods seeing dynamic growth, but are their days already numbered?
January 1, 2004... During 1998-2003, the functional food and beverage market experienced dynamic growth, with global value sales increasing almost 60%, says a new report from global analyst Euromonitor. Sales of these products are forecast to advance a further...

US FTC tackles weight-loss claims, with media guide, legal actions and views to FDA.
January 1, 2004... The US Federal Trade Commission has unveiled its new Red Flag education campaign which, it says, aims to help the media screen out weight-loss product advertising containing claims that are "too good to be true." As part of this voluntary...

Biomarker health claims for foods on the table in Australia and New Zealand.
January 1, 2004... Health claims based on biomarkers, such as cholesterol as a predictor of heart disease, would be permitted under a new policy guideline endorsed last month by the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council. The guideline...

Favorable EU opinion for Diminicole.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Finland-based Teriaka, owned by the Paulig group, has received a favorable opinion from the European Union's Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health for its Diminicole, which has been shown to significantly reduce cholesterol and can...

Berri launches new ranges in Australia.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Australian fruit juice major Berri has launched two new ranges of products called Berri Harmonies and Berri Multi-V, including fruit and vegetable lines, some containing "holistic new-age ingredients," the firm says. Berri Multi-V is...

Transfer Point to export to Cuba.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... South Carolina, USA-based dietary supplements firm Transfer Point has obtained a commercial license from the US Treasury to export its products to Cuba, a country which has been under a US embargo for many years. Transfer Point will sell...

Danisco's Benefat gets final EU appro.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Leading nutraceutical ingredient company Danisco says that it has received final approval from the European Commission to market its low- calorie alternative Benefat to the confectionery and bakery industries in European Union member states....

Nutrinova's DHActive debuts in Europe.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Germany-headquartered Nutrinova's highly-concentrated omega-3 docosahexenoic acid, DHActive, is now available in Europe, following approval of the product by the domestic regulatory authority in early November 2003. DHActive can be used in...

Plethora of new low-carb products spurred by Atkins diet success in USA.
January 1, 2004... The success of the Atkins diet may not only have seen people shedding pounds in weight and US cattle breeders returning to profitability for the first time in years, it has also led to a spate of new low- carbohydrate food products being...

Novogen gains US health supps patent.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Novogen, a US firm also listed on the Australian stock exchange, has been granted a US patent covering health supplements based on the use of soy isoflavones in tablet and capsule form. This patent has been licensed worldwide, excluding...

Health Enhancement gains ReplenTish line.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Arizona, USA-based nutraceuticals manufacturer Health Enhancement Products has acquired the ReplenTish line and all related trade marks. This is said to be the first product that seeks to benefit actual and second-hand smokers by replenishing...

Hain's Rice Dream now contains CoroWise.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Hain Celestial's new Rice Dream Heart Wise drink, which was introduced in the USA last month, contains the CoroWise brand of phytosterols from Cargill Health & Food Technologies, a US developer of ingredients for food and dietary supplements....

Bradley to market Chr Hansen probiotic.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Bradley Pharmaceutical of the USA is to market a new probiotic, Flora- Q, supplied by Denmark's Chr Hansen, to the North American physician community. To be introduced in the first quarter of this year, Flora-Q will be promoted through...

New Scolr controlled-release supplements.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... CDT controlled-release technology from US firm Scolr will be incorporated into two new products to be launched early this year by an unnamed retailer. These are 12-hour CDT Niacin and 12-hour CDT EsterC under the firm's private label,...

Novartis buys Mead Johnson's adult medical nutrition business for $385M.
January 1, 2004... Swiss health care major Novartis is to acquire the brands, trade marks, patents and intellectual property assets of US firm Bristol-Myers Squibb's Mead Johnson unit's global adult medical nutrition business in a cash transaction amounting to...

Unsolicited takeover bid for Omega Protein.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Argentina-based Ferrari Investments and unidentified US partners have made an unsolicited offer of $9.50 per share for US fish oil producer Omega Protein, valuing the business at some $230 million. Ferrari already owns a 4% stake in Omega,...

Numico completes exit from supplements.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Netherlands-headquartered Royal Numico has completed the sale of its USA-based GNC nutritional supplements, for $750 million in cash, to an investor group (NI vol 8, no 12). The move came at about the same time as Numico sold off the rest of...

Zila growth driven by nutra division.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Zila of Phoenix, USA, has posted results for its fiscal first quarter of 2004, ended October 31 last year, which showed a 12.3% rise in revenues to $12.1 million on the back of a strong showing from its slow-release vitamin C formulation...

Aquagen to acquire Quantum Labs.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Aquagen International, a Salt Lake City, USA-based firm which manufactures and markets liquid-stabilized oxygen supplements, has signed a letter of intent to acquire Quantum Laboratories, a division of Global Bioenergetics Technology, that has...

Weider makes steady progress in 2nd qtr.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Salt Lake City, USA-based Weider Nutrition International says that net sales for the fiscal 2004 second quarter increased 4.8% to $60.8 million, while net income climbed to $2.7 million, or $0.10 per share, a rise of 17.4% compared with the...

Perrigo buys Peter Black Pharma.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Perrigo, a USA-based nutraceutical firm, has continued its expansion into the European vitamins market with the acquisition of UK privately- held Peter Black Pharmaceuticals for $13 million in cash. The latter is one of the largest...

Forbes Medi-Tech expands sterols plant.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Having just posted financial figures that showed a return to the black (NI vol 8, no 12), Canada's Forbes Medi-Tech has started expanding the manufacturing facility in Pasadena, USA, by Phyto-Source, the Vancouver-based firm's joint venture...

DSM vitamins sheds jobs in Germany.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Netherlands-based DSM, which acquired the Roche vitamins and fine chemicals unit last October (NI vol 8, no 10), has launched a program to reduce over-capacity and alter production volumes. This includes cutting about 290 jobs at the group's...

Fabre takes full control of Dolisos.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... French independent pharmaceutical group Pierre Fabre, which already owns 86.6% of the homeopathic drug company Dolisos, has acquired a further 13.2% stake from Lehning to take full control of the enterprise with a total holding of 99.79%. ...

Nycomed to sell-off nutra assets.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Danish pharmaceutical firm Nycomed has revealed plans to divest segments of its business activities related to nutritional supplements and dietary products to Norwegian private equity firm Ferd, as part of its strategy to focus on its core...

Danisco's first-half earnings rise 9%.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Danish firm Danisco says that first-half fiscal year to October 31 currency-adjusted sales of ingredients and sweeteners grew 5% in the first six months, and it continued to strengthen its market position due to volume growth. The strong euro...

India's Lupin sets up herbal division.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Indian drugmaker Lupin has set up a herbal medicines division and plans to sell products from the new unit not only on the domestic market but also internationally. Ajey Kumar, a Lupin vice president and head of new ventures, told the Financial...

BI Nutraceuticals acquires Hauser unit.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Zuellig Botanicals's BI Nutraceuticals subsidiary has announced the completion of its acquisition of substantially all the assets of the dietary supplement business unit of Hauser. Financial details of the purchase were not provided. The...

IdeaSphere concludes Twinlab purchase.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Twinlab Corp and Twin Laboratories (UK) Ltd announced that, on December 19, 2003, they had completed the sale of substantially all of the group's assets to US firm IdeaSphere of Grand Rapids, Michigan. On September 4, 2003, Twinlab...

Merck KGaA settles in US price-fixing case.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... One of the vitamin manufacturers involved in the price-fixing allegation law suits first filed in 2000 (NIs passim), Germany's Merck KGaA, has reached a settlement and is cooperating with the plaintiffs, reports the New York Times, which says...

Daiichi takes over Mitsubishi vitamins.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Mitsubishi Pharma has agreed to transfer its vitamin B6 business to fellow Japanese company Daiichi Pharmaceuticals' Fine Chemicals unit, with effect from April 1. According to a JCN NetWork report, the move will enable Daiichi to expand its...

Strong quarter for Vital Living.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Vital Living Corp, which describes itself as "the physician's nutraceutical company," says that revenues for the third quarter ended September 30, 2003, reached almost $862,000 compared to less than $68,000 for the same period last year. ...

Revenues leap at Martek Biosciences.
January 1, 2004... Martek Biosciences Corp states that for its fiscal fourth quarter ended October 31, 2003, revenues soared almost 156% to $38.6 million, while net income was $6.2 million, or $0.21 per share, compared to $375,000 or $0.02 per share in the like,...

PacificHealth buys STRONG Research.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... PacificHealth Laboratories, a New Jersey-based firm which develops and manufactures the satiety-inducing nutraceutical ingredient Satietrol, says that it has acquired all the outstanding shares of fellow US company STRONG Research Corp. ...

Brunel to distribute Efamol in UK.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Brunel Healthcare, a specialist supplier of health supplements and over-the-counter medicines established in 1982, has been appointed to handle the distribution of the Efamol range of essential fatty acids- based products formerly owned by...

Hutchison and Beijing Tong form JV.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa and traditional chinese medicine maker Beijing Tong Ren Tang are to form a joint venture to develop and invest in traditional Chinese medicine and other health- related projects. Hutchison and Beijing...

Stone Tech buys into consumer health care.(Stone Electirc Technology buys GoldPartner Biotech)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Stone Electric Technology has acquired Shanghai-based GoldPartner Biotech through a HK$1.17 billion ($150 million) deal involving the purchase of the entire assets of Central New, reports the China Daily. Central New is registered in the...

Cholines sales rate grows for Algry.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Spanish firm Algry Quimica, maker of pharmaceutical and food-grade choline salts, announced sales growth of 15% for fiscal 2003 in its core business, including the products choline chloride, choline bitartrate and choline citrate. The company...

Numico expecting no claims for ephedra.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Dutch baby food and clinical nutrition firm Royal Numico is not expecting claims following the US Food and Drug Administration's consumer alert regarding ephedra (ephedrine), reports Dow Jones. Numico spokesman Michiel Quarles van Ufford said...

Scolr to sell probiotic business.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... USA-based biopharmaceutical firm Scolr has announced the sale of its probiotics development and manufacturing arm for around $2.72 million. Sclor is selling its probiotics unit to a company formed by the unit's current general manager, Steven...

Rhodia refinances debt burden.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... French ingredients company Rhodia has been given more time to complete company restructuring plans after reaching an agreement with creditors to refinance its debt. Under the new arrangement, the existing credit line of 970 million euros ($1.23...

Forthcoming meetings/events.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... IFIA Japan 2004, billed as the largest food ingredients and additives event in Asia, will be held in Tokyo on May 26-28. For more information, contact E J Krause & Associates at tel: +1 301 493 5500; fax: +1 301 493 5705; or on-line at...

People on the move.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Carl de Santis, founder and former chairman of Rexall Sundown (now part of NBTY), has joined the board of directors of Integrated BioPharma, whose interests span nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Mr DeSantis is also a principal...

European functional foods market now valued at L2 billion.
January 1, 2004... The quest for health has turned European consumers into amateur physicians and has boosted the region's functional foods market to a current value of some L2 billion ($3.49 billion), according to a new report from UK-based business information...

Multivitamin supp lowers CRP levels.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Findings published in the December issue of The American Journal of Medicine show that a 24-ingredient multivitamin reduced the body levels of C-reactive protein, an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The six-month study,...

Berry extract fights flu symptoms.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The black elderberry extract Sambucol may reduce symptoms and shorten duration of flu, according to research conducted at the University of Oslo School of Medicine in Norway, and published in The Journal of International Medical Research. ...

Velvet antler extract may benefit athletes.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The results of human clinical trials, reported in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise metabolism, have revealed that velvet antler extract may enhance athletic performance. Velvet antler has previously been shown to...

DHA could reduce postnatal depression.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... New research conducted in the Netherlands reveals that low levels of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid after pregnancy are linked with postnatal depression, and that supplementing with DHA could reduce the chances of developing the...

Mushroom extract boosts immunity.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The proprietary mushroom extract MaitakeGold 404 is a highly active immunomodulator, even at very low doses, according to new in vivo research. The tests revealed high activity in phagocytosis and in stimulation of cytokine release (ie,...

Trans-Tasman treaty puts NZ complementary medicines on the spot.
January 1, 2004... A gathering storm over the future regulation of dietary supplements and other complementary medicines in New Zealand broke on December 10, 2003, when the government shrugged off the recommendations of a parliamentary committee to sign a treaty...

Mixed outcome for borderline products in EU pharma review.
January 1, 2004... Efforts by the food industry to secure the increasingly tenuous borderline between medicines and dietary supplements or functional foods under the European Union's review of its pharmaceutical legislation have ended in a compromise that could...

Homeopathics cut formalized in France.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The French government has now published a decree lowering the reimbursement rate for homeopathic medicines from 65% to 35%. The reimbursement cut, which was formalized in the French Official Journal of December 19, 2003, was one of a number...

CIAA seeks flexible claims framework.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... While guarding against false or misleading claims, the regulatory framework now being thrashed out for nutrition and health claims on foods in Europe (NI vol 8, no 8) "must at the same time give industry the flexibility and incentive to...

Product innovation in Europe - a seven year hiatus.
January 1, 2004... Seven years ago this month, the European Parliament and Council adopted the European Union regulation on novel foods and novel food ingredients. In essence, this regulation declared that all foods and ingredients that could not be demonstrated...

Functional foods for weight control - a forgotten option in obesity policy.
January 1, 2004... There are two policy approaches to diet and obesity - changing people and changing food. The first seeks to modify individuals' eating habits and the second to improve the nutritional quality of products, comments Jack Winkler of UK-based Food...