Wisconsin-based Quincy Bioscience was at Expo West at the weekend sharing the results of rat studies using its orally-acceptable branded supplement, Prevagen. It said that the lab studies showed a 28 to 45 percent improvement in cellular protection in the rodent models.
Quincy president Mark Underwood, who discovered the calcium-binding properties of aequorin (a protene excreted by a certain species of jelly fish) ten years ago, said that the market launch for Prevagen is anticipated for 2007.
But the research phase is by no means over. He told NutraIngredients-USA.com that the company is currently investigating the cognitive effects of the protein in a live rodent population, and is expecting to see positive results.
This study will be completed by the end of the summer. It is a lengthy process since the rodents since it involves rats of different ages and they must be trained to have specific skills in the first place.
Ninety-nine percent of the calcium in the human body is in the bones, but one percent is in the nervous system, where it is responsible for controlling many functions, from the heart beat to blood thickness.
The depletion of calcium-binding protein in the aging is well documented, and has been associated with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as well as other neurological diseases.
"We are trying to regulate and control that calcium in the neurons," said Underwood.
Other cells, besides brain cells, experience a loss of calcium-binding protein too, but Quincy, which sponsors research at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, has yet to investigate this.
"The data just speak on neuroprotection, but it makes sense that we may be able to keep other cells alive for longer too," said Underwood.
Beyond supplements, a long term aim of the company is to make the ingredient acceptable for use in pharmaceutical products, and clinical trials to this end will be starting next year.
Underwood said the company recognises that FDA authentification is very important in order to help people believe in the product. In general, doctors have a tendency to regard supplements as being less scientific than pharmaceutical drugs.
That said, although no studies on the protein have yet been published in peer-reviewed journals, Underwood said that the science is strong and the response from health care practitioners with whom the company has already spoken has been very good.
For the supplement market, the safety data are convincing and the new dietary ingredient (NDI) process has already been initiated.
But research has only been part of the story as the company has prepared for market. It also had to develop the technology to make large amounts of the protein.
In the past, two tonnes of jelly fish was required to make just 125 mg of aequorin - that is, just one supplement's worth. Clearly this would unfeasibly expensive, not to mention logistically difficult in land-locked Wisconsin.
Instead, Quincy developed a way to take the protein and use an expression system to reproduce it.
"There is no need to go fishing anymore, and no jellyfish are harmed."
Underwood was not able to give details of the precise quantities that can be produced, but he said the infrastructure keeps growing as interest grows. At Expo West, the company the company attracted enquiries from the US, Europe, China "and most of the corners of the globe in between".
There is already considerably interest, but at the moment all the aequorin being produced is devoted to research purposes.
The company is always looking to grow through capital investment, which will help make as big a splash as possible at the launch.
But it seems that there is no lack of marketing savvy behind the project already: 'Joey the Jellyfish' has been named as the official mascot, and the aim is for him to be visible, and recognised by, consumers.
"We envisage Joey being included on all authentic products," said Underwood, "though not necessarily in the most prominent position."
As to the potential, Prevagen is said to have greater efficacy than ginko biloba, which has annual sales in the US of around $150 million.
Conservative estimates put worldwide sales of CoQ10, also associated with cognitive function, at around $350 million in 2004.
Based on the success of these ingredients, it is feasible that the newcomer could rise to be worth tens, or hundreds of millions of dollars in the US alone, predicts Underwood.
And as maintaining cognitive function is a priority for aging populations across the world, this might be achieved in a relatively short space of time.
Quincy is not setting out to replace existing cognitive supplements on the market, but to offer another approach to dealing with aging issues.