Nutra India Summit to explore depths of nutraceutical industry
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 08:00 IST 
http://www.fnbnews.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=29187§ionid=1

To learn more about Dr. Scott Doughman:  Nutra India Summit to Explore Regulation

Date Published: 31 Jan 2011

DSM, a global life sciences and material sciences company, recently announced its intention to purchase Martek BioSciences in a Billion dollar deal. DSM recently divested its key synthetics businesses and is aggressively pursuing its aim to become a leader in the life sciences and Food & Beverage Ingredients space. DSM already holds a wide portfolio of natural and synthetic food & beverage ingredients including enzymes and vitamins. The Nutrition business unit of DSM covering food and feed ingredients has been a significant driver for growth of the company.

Figure 1-1 representing the performance of the nutrition business clearly reflects that this is becoming a star business unit for DSM.

Figure 1-1: Nutrition business of DSM - Percent of revenue contribution (2004-2009), Global

 

 

Martek, a global market leader in the algal omega-3 space, fit neatly into DSM's overall strategy of attaining leadership in segments that it is active in. DSM's existing vegetable and marine omega-3 range will now be extended to include algal oils. Martek and DSM have been collaborating for quite some time in the Omega-3 space, and this has evolved into the current acquisition, which works well for both companies.

The global Omega-3 Ingredients market

Omega-3 Ingredients have been growing at 10 to 18 per cent across different regions in the globe. Marine source Omega-3 ingredients contribute to 90% of the estimated revenues of $1.5 Billion globally in 2010. Europe is expected to show a greater acceptance of algal oils in the near future and grow faster than North America, where algal oils are well established.

Figure 1-2 shows snapshot of growth patterns of marine and algal omega-3 ingredients in different regions of the world in 2010.

Figure 1-2: Snapshot of global Omega-3 Ingredients market, 2010

 

 

Strength and Weakness of Algal Omega 3 Ingredients

Algal omega-3 Ingredients has the advantage of being vegetarian source which is a popular food trend in the west currently. In addition, algal source omega-3 application technologies are protected by a strong Intellectual Property portfolio and supported by research specifically in the infant nutrition space. The DHA/EPA ratio makes it ideal for pregnant and lactating women and infants. Despite the strength of the product, algal oils have a low share of the market for Omega-3 Ingredients. Manufacturing base for algal source is highly consolidated with only two main manufacturers controlling the total market. Of these Martek with its length & breadth of patents is the clear market leader.  There are other companies which claim to be able to manufacture algal omega-3 ingredients from different parts of the world, but have failed to create an impact in the market. For algal source to garner a significant proportion of the market, manufacturers have to follow a multi pronged strategy including:

• Cost competitiveness compared with other omega-3 sources, both established and upcoming.
• Greater penetration, in application areas other than infant nutrition
• Stronger IP protection

Our earlier analysis showed that combination of different sources of Omega-3 was necessary for maintaining concentrations of different fatty acids as well as for keeping costs under control. A mixture of algal and flax seed oil could give the low cost option for food manufacturers to include Omega-3 in their products at the recommended dosage of 650 mg/ person/ day.

Infant formula consumes nearly 57% of the total Omega -3 fatty acids entering the food industry in the USA, while functional foods consume only 10%. Functional foods include fortified milks, cheese, cookies, breads and nearly every other manufactured food which can be used as a carrier for omega -3 fatty acids.

The global scenario is not very different, where either infant formula or child nutrition products contain appreciable algal Omega -3 fortification with qualified leading to health claims. Fortified foods are still at infancy in most markets.

There is a lot of speculation in the market about expiry of specific portions of Martek's patent portfolio, which could allow entry of newer players into the algal Omega-3 Ingredient space. DSM's acquisition of Martek could be viewed in different perspectives - Their confidence in Martek's patent protection or Martek's requirement of a strong financial backup to retain its leadership position in the market when its patent protection expires. Martek's own disclosure is clear about the status of patent expiry on certain key products and processes, and their business plan is structured around the extended protection offered by their wide patent portfolio. DSM can and will offer a compelling case for customers to extend their sole source agreements with Martek. DSM's expertise in the field of nutritional ingredients, their positioning as a single stop supplier of key functional ingredients and greater ability to offer technical support are advantages that clients will consider when signing on.

Key questions for the market

Evaluation of the acquisition of Martek by DSM warrants a separate and in-depth study. The implications for the market though are partly independent of DSM's rationale in acquiring Martek. The key questions to ask in analysing implications for the market would be:

• Does this mean Omega-3 is no more lucrative for small companies?
• Are technological advancements going to slow down since there is a lot more marketing involved?
• There are many players waiting to enter the market. How are they looking at this?

Omega-3 Ingredients contribute to approximately $175 million in revenue to Pronova Biopharma, the largest company in this space in North America. Martek derives only around $83 million as a Food & Beverage Ingredient from Omega-3 in NA. Most companies are pure play Omega-3 manufacturers, even though they operate across many application segments. Cognis and Martek are currently the only two companies which have the significant backing of global ingredient players, viz BASF and DSM respectively. While Cognis has only marine source Omega-3, Martek adds to DSM's existing vegetable and marine source Omega-3 Ingredients. With the acquisitions, Cognis & Martek have gained significant increase in access to markets and R&D focus that could push smaller players out of the market for Omega-3 Ingredients.

Technology has been the driving force that kept Martek competitive as an Omega-3 Ingredient manufacturer. Their strong contracts with key food manufacturers were based if now wholly, but at least significantly on their ability to provide quality technical backup in terms of validation data, formulation support and product improvement in terms of sensory properties and stability. DSM provides the strength to Martek to increase volume capacity, reduce cost, synergise with other functional ingredients and widen the geographic scope of operations. While DSM is a highly technology oriented and innovative company, to succeed in the Omega-3 space they need to focus on strengthening Martek's weak areas which revolves mainly around cash flow and marketing. When the main player in the market shifts from scientific and technological focus to a more marketing centred strategy, it will significantly affect the innovative output of the market.

Many players waiting to enter the market for Algal Omega-3 Ingredients, based their hopes on Martek's patent portfolio expiry. Prices were speculated to fall upon expiry of Martek's key patents. DSM offers key support to Martek in synergising with it's existing and rather substantial intellectual property portfolio in F&B Ingredients. This synergy could open up more lucrative arenas for Martek's Omega-3. In another scenario, Martek could become cost competitive even when other players enter the market due to an increase in capacity supported by DSM. Either way, this event should make companies think twice before entering this market.

Altered Dynamics

The dynamics of the market is expected to be altered significantly based on this acquisition. Martek is now supported by a multi-billion dollar principal that can affect its competitive position positively. DSM brings synergy to Martek in areas such as access to technology and markets. Martek, and by implication algal omega-3 sources, become more competitive and increase their geographic and application coverage. The exact changes in the market are something to wait and watch.

Source:http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/market-insight-top.pag?Src=RSS&docid=223058470.

To learn more on this topic see Global Omega 3 Market

Algae, Latin for "seaweed" are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. The US Algal Collection is represented by almost 300,000 accessioned and inventoried herbarium specimens.[3] The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many distinct organs found in land plants.

Though the prokaryotic cyanobacteria (commonly referred to as blue-green algae) were traditionally included as "algae" in older textbooks, many modern sources regard this as outdated[4] as they are now considered to be bacteria.[5] The term algae is now restricted to eukaryotic organisms.[6] All true algae therefore have a nucleus enclosed within a membrane and plastids bound in one or more membranes.[4][7] Algae constitute a paraphyletic and polyphyletic group,[4] as they do not include all the descendants of the last universal ancestor nor do they all descend from a common algal ancestor, although their plastids seem to have a single origin.[1] Diatoms are also examples of algae. SOURCE: http://losts.net/Dha_algal_oil

Learn more about Scott Doughman: Omega 3 Sources

Summary:It concludes that there is a strong scientific basis for vegetarians and vegans to increase their dietary omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12 to help contend with those risks.

For more information about Dr. Scott Doughman:  B-12 and Omega 3 Required by Vegans

Kibow Biotech Founder is an Invited Speaker at the The 6th Nutra India Summit at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai.

Kibow Biotech, Inc., a US-based biotech firm that manufactures a probiotic nutraceutical supplement for patients with kidney failure, is pleased to announced that Dr. Ranganathan, VP (R&D) and interim CEO, has been invited to be a Speaker at The 6th Nutra India Summit.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, February 15, 2011 /India PRwire/ -- Kibow Biotech, Inc., a pioneering US-based biotech firm that manufactures a probiotic nutraceutical supplement for patients with kidney failure, is pleased to announced that Dr. Natarajan Ranganathan, VP (R&D) and interim CEO, has been invited to be a Speaker at The 6th Nutra India Summit. The Summit organised by Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and MM Activ (Sci-Tech Communication Company), is scheduled from February 15 to 18, 2011, at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai.

The title of Dr. Ranganathan's presentation is, "A Novel Approach for Uremic Toxin Removal Utilizing a Probiotics Dietary Supplement via "Enteric Dialysis™"

Dr. Natarajan Ranganathan, VP (R&D) and interim CEO of the Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, based company, said, Kibow Biotech is honored to have been invited to be a keynote speaker in the area of 'Nutrigenomics, Pre & Probiotics, & Enzyme.' Dr. Ranganathan stated that, "I am especially pleased to be sharing the stage with many prominent speakers, from the Nutra Food and Bio-Pharma industry."

The three-day event to be held at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai will have International Conference, Keynote Lectures, NuFFooDS - Products & Ingredients Expo, B2B meetings, CEO summit, Poster Competition, Doctors and Nutritionists Forum and Nutra Awards. Over 500 delegates are expected to participate in the event.

India is considered the diabetes capital of the world, with as many as 50 million people suffering from this chronic disease. Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure and even when diabetes is controlled, the disease can lead to CKD and kidney failure. It is with this thought in mind, that Dr. Rangan developed the product, Kibow® Biotics, which utilizes a patented and proprietary bowel-based enteric technology for use in clinical applications towards maintaining a healthy kidney function. This is also largely why Kibow is currently in the process of opening a subsidiary in India to make Kibow Biotics accessible here.

Dr. Ranganathan states, "By developing an affordable, readily available and easy-to-administer dietary supplement, Kibow offers hope to all those who suffer from kidney problems in the USA and other countries such as India in accordance with their respective governmental regulatory/registration authorities."

Notes to Editor

Kibow Biotech, Inc. is a 13-year-old R&D biotechnology company, having its operations in Newtown Square, PA, USA. The company's mission is dedicated to finding a simple, convenient and cost-effective worldwide solution for people experiencing kidney function problems. The company's flagship product is called "Kibow® Biotics," an orally consumable, enteric-coated Gel Cap product formulation that is composed of food-grade microbes ("Probiotics") which metabolize the uremic toxins diffusing into the bowel as a consequence of increased levels of these toxins in the blood. The purpose of this non-drug, dietary supplement product is to help maintain a healthy kidney function for people in need of alternative or complementary Over The Counter (OTC) products.

Forward-looking statements:

Kibow®Biotics or any other dietary supplement is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease as per the U.S. FDA. Kibow's website contains both historical information and also contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance of the Company to be materially different from such statements or from any future results or performance implied thereby. Factors which could cause the Company's results or performance to differ from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the ability to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to the manufacture and marketing of the Company's products; the Company's ability to obtain and enforce effective patents; the non-infringement of third party patents or proprietary rights by the Company and its products; the establishment and maintenance of strategic collaborative and commercial relationships. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information on Dr. Scott Doughman:  Nutra Summit and Diabetes

FBR Staff WriterPublished 16 February 2011

Source-Omega, an international manufacturer of algae oil nutritional products, has introduced Optimized DHA3 ForeBRAIN, the second product in its line of Next Gen Plant Based Omega-3 for premium optimized vegetarian lipids.

The company has plans to launch this product on Earth Day 2011. Optimized DHA3 ForeBRAIN is said to consist of select algae oil that is rich in DHA n-3 (300mg) and DPA n-6 (100mg) plus EPA n-3 (10mg).

Pure One DHA plus DPA n-6 and EPA advances the company's proprietary 300mg DHA + 10mg EPA formulation using algae oil. Greater levels of DHA plus EPA are required to lower triglycerides for heart health in adults.

The company said that there will be 30 capsules for a one month supply and one capsule per day of the Pure One product is recommended to support brain structure and function in children 4 and over and in adults.

Source-Omega president and chief scientist Scott Doughman said the ForeBRAIN product is consistent with the company's prior observation that Pure One algae oil fatty acids are balanced to match the body's needs, and this means that the human brain make-up of omegas is more closely matched by the Pure One ForeBRAIN product ratios.

"Optimized DHA3 ForeBRAIN features the median ratio of 3:1 DHA/DPA found in human breast milk," Doughman noted.

The company claims that DPA n-6 lipid in ForeBRAIN comes from the same Non-GMO algae strain as the first Pure One product and is safe for pregnant and nursing mothers.

The Pure One vegetarian form of the 'egg lipids' DHA, DPA and EPA together may provide greater brain support than DHA alone, according to Source Omega.

100mg DPA n-6 per serving is regarded safe and beneficial as a fatty acid that is also present in the general food supply and is safe at higher dosages.

Source Omega is into manufacturing, branding, private labeling and globalization of algae oil nutritional products under the name and formula Pure One, the Next Generation Plant Based Omega-3 for its Omega-3 DHA Therapy, for clinics offering triglyceride lowering plasma lipids management programs, brain health, and for pregnancy, nursing and family care.

For more information about Scott Doughman see:  Omega 3 supplement

Mental Health and Omega 3/6 Ratio, A New Review

Twitter is a black hole for time spitting out information like Hawking radiation. (I may have achieved the geekiest simile ever!)  I've been a bit busy, as the applications for preschool are pretty detailed, asking for medical records, descriptions of my culture, and different ways we help the little one settle down or take her nap (bribery and threats, mostly.  Oh, wait, the correct answer is "routine.") And sure, she's allergic to sunscreen.  Well, with all that going on the blogging and reading has gone by the wayside a little.  Also, most papers come out as a preview in the last week of the month, so there tends to be a rush of exciting new information all at once.  Then a dry spell.  If I'm fired up, I'll actually look into a topic in depth and do a nearly proper literature review.  But not having had the time to do that... there's always twitter (and Jamie Scott, who is sending me a slew of papers about mitochondria, histamine, and sleep because he is awesome that way.  I'm hoping to settle down and look at them sometime over the next couple of weeks).

Twitter!  The be-ripped Martin Berkhan tweeted up a paper earlier today that is a new review of Omega 3s and 6s.  The article, Evolutionary Aspects of Diet: The Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio and the Brain, is a tidy look at omega-3 and omega -6 biochemistry detailing all the conversions and enzymes along the way for the biochem geeks.  In the end, it describes the more interesting stuff about the evidence that omega 3s, in fact, do have an important role in the brain, and thatone would be a sad and foolish monkey indeed to consume the modern 25:1 6:3 ratio (just say no to corn and safflower and soybean oil...)  Another interesting fact - the review is written by Artemis P Simopoulos, who pretty much first popularized the Mediterranean diet with her book The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete.  Guess she knows what she's talking about with respect to the omegas.   

Let's dig in.  Hmmm... "psychologic stress in humans induces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN gamma, TNF alpha, IL-6, and IL-1."  Yup.  Too much omega-6 compared to omega 3 can lead to the overproduction of inflammatory cytokines, which for various reasons is Not Good.  Theoretically, changes in PUFA ratios can alter the function and structure of the serotonin receptors (for example, essential fatty acids in the plasma predict the CSF metabolites of serotonin and dopamine)(1).  Treatment with DHA and EPA can be useful in major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.  Other researchers note that as the dietary ratio of omega-6/omega-3 increases, depression symptoms, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and the IL-6 soluble receptor increases.  Another group studied brains of people suffering from depression when they died vs. controls.  AA/DHA ratios decreased with age in depressed people, but not in controls.  All these lines of evidence, including the randomized controlled trials of omega-3 supplementation, seem to support the idea that our brain needs omega-3s to work well and keep the mood stable.     

Now onto the studies of cognition and omega-3 PUFAs.  Turns out that when the neurons are stimulated with neurotransmitters, the PUFAs in the cell membrane can be released to become all sorts of different inflammatory and anti-inflammatory or signaling molecules.  The PUFAs also seem to influence cell migration and cell self-destruction (called apoptosis) - they even influence the length of telomeres, which are known to decrease with age, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.   A lot of neurochemistry has been elucidated in this area - the details are nicely summarized by Simopolous.  Suffice it to say that brain inflammation is part of the pathology of schizophrenia, dementia, and likely autism, and that omega 6/3 ratios could be important, and omega 3 supplementation (if done early on), can possibly be helpful.  There is some controversy as to the best ratio with which to supplement (2:1 EPA to DHA is recommended by Simopolous), and in these unknowns I prefer to fall back to the primary sources - fatty fish themselves.    

A study of prisoners showed many violent incarcerated young folks have deficiency ("0% intake") in omega 3 fatty acids from fish and selenium in the Table 5 of the paper, called "Diet of disaffection: nutrient intakes from a sample of disadvantaged young people."  Only 17% of them get adequate intake ofmagnesium too.  Interesting.

When one looks at studies of substance abusers, one also finds deficiencies of omega 3s.  Alcoholics, for example, are a known population rife with nutrient deficiencies (a med school professor used to call it the BBB diet - "beer, bread, and bologna.")  A group of researchers carried out a small double-blind randomized controlled trial of 3g EPA and DHA vs soybean oil control in substance abusers. After three months, the treatment arm had significantly reduced feelings of anger, anxiety, and cravings.  The increase in plasma EPA strongly correlated with the reduced anxiety, and the effects persisted for 3 months after the end of the treatment. 

Putting it all together - the overall evidence suggests that if you want to be anxious, moody, depressed, violent, and craving addictive substances, by all means slurp down those omega 6 PUFAs. If you want more control over your brain and urges, maybe look into avoiding any extra 6 (the animal fats will have all that is necessary) and be sure to get the omega 3s you need via fish a few times a week or properly sourced beef or other grassfed ruminant meat.  This brain chemistry thing ain't so hard after all. OMEGA SOURCE: http://evolutionarypsychiatry.blogspot.com/2011/02/mental-health-and-omega-36-ratio-new.html

For more information about Dr. Scott Doughman see:  Omega 3 Capsules & Mental Health

Dr Prakash calls for self-regulation in nutraceuticals
Thursday, February 17, 2011 08:00 IST 
Swati Iyer, Mumbai
 

 
Organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Mysore-based Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications, the 6th edition of 'Nutra India Summit' kicked-off successfully at the Vivanta, Taj President, in Mumbai on Tuesday, February 15. 

The Summit was inaugurated by Ashok Sinha, secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, in the presence of Dr Ibrahim Elmadfa IUNS-president, head, Institute of Nutritional Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria, Dr V Prakash, Chairman, International Advisory Committee, 6th Nutra India Summit & director, CFTRI, Mysore, and Jagdish Patankar, organising secretary, Nutra India Summit & managing director, MM Activ Sci-tech Communications.

Delivering the inaugural address, Dr Prakash stressed that the industry should have self regulation. "R & D, regulatory bodies, industry and the consumers should be inter-connected. It was vital to consider if we were in the right direction. The event had already come a long way from the time of its inception and it had progressed fairly well. The way ahead had to be chartered to make sure we were on the right path to progress."

Sinha admitted that Indian nutraceuticals market was still in an infancy stage, though the country greatly influenced the world nutraceuticals market. He stated that, "Japan was the birth place for functional foods and the future for functional beverage would be most bright with growth of 10.8 per cent CAGR by 2013."

"The main factors that influenced the nutraceutical market included, increase in life expectancy among people, self care, increase in healthcare cost, linking diet and health and product diversification for healthcare."

V Prakash chaired the highlight lecture with speakers Ibrahim Elmadfa and Dr Rickey Y Yada, professor, CRC Food Protein Structure, scientific director, Advanced Foods and Materials Network Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Canada.

Ibrahim Elmadfa dealt on the topic, 'The paradox on of nutritional antioxidants.' Giving an insight on nutritional antioxidants and stressing on consumption of fruits and vegetables he stated that, "antioxidants form an intricate network in the body that can be perturbed by high dose supplementation of single components. In turn, a varied diet rich in natural antioxidant sources especially fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds and whole grains or carefully enriched products thereof provides a wide array of interacting compounds thus maintaining the antioxidative balance."

Yada dealt on the topic 'An overview of the science and technology in food and food products at the nanoscale level.' Sharing information on nanotechnology and nano science, Yada gave a brief on the importance on nanotechnology in packaging, agriculture, food processing, health and other sectors. 

He said," With all new technologies, the potentially new, unique and beneficial properties afforded through these applications will require rigorous safety testing, risk/benefit analysis and consumer acceptance to ensure that potential environmental, human health and safety concerns are addressed." According to him it was vital to harmonise policies as they create major trade issues. He added, "We need to regulate products and not technology." 

With 'innovate, collaborate, accelerate' as the focal theme, the conference successfully brought together eminent scientists, industry experts, government officials, CEO's of companies and students under one roof to discuss new innovations, trends and opportunities in the health-foods segment, the progress of regulatory mechanism, new ingredients and technologies, new product development and also public awareness and consumer trends. The conference and event would continue from 16th 18th at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai. 

The event will see participation from domestic and international pharmaceutical firms dealing in the sector of health-boosting food products and other dietary supplements. The companies participating in this international conference will discuss the marketing strategies, growth of nutrition-based food industry, new ingredients and technology developed in nutraceutical and dietary supplements sector.

The conference cum event is supported by some of the leading companies and association like Health Food and Dietary Supplements (HADSA), Pharmexcil, Organisation of Pharmaceuticals Products in India (OPPI), Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA), Ayurvedic Drugs Manufactures Association (ADMA), Indian Dietetic Association (IDA) and Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ADMA).

To learn more about Scott Doughman:  Nutraceutical Brand Marketing