Valensa signs joint health ingredient agreement
Joint health is a pressing issue for some 140 million adults in the United States, and countless more around the world have issues with their connective tissues. However since the introduction of glucosamine and chondroitin, the supplement sector has been casting about for new ingredients that work as well as or synergistically with them.
The global glucosamine market was valued at $2bn in 2008. Out of that, US sales accounted for $872m. The second largest market is Japan, which recorded sales of $300m last year.
Valensa joined this last year developed and filed provisional patents for dietary supplement and medical food formulations using Aker Biomarine krill oil, for the joint health market, as well as for the cardiovascular and eye health categories.
The new license for BiovaFlex is a continuation of its program in the joint health arena. Company president and CEO Dr Rudi Moerck said: “Our goal is to use BiovaFlex and our own proprietary ingredients, including astaxanthin and krill oil, to create revolutionary joint health formulations that feature vastly smaller dosage requirements and easy-to-consume dosage forms such as gummies, small capsules, tablets or softgels.”
BiovaFlex is described as a proprietary natural ingredient that consists of non-denatured collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid (HA), along with the elastin building blocks desmosine and iso-desmosine. It is said to support the stability and flexibility of synovial joint functions.
According to Valensa, open label trials indicate that the ingredient produces positive results, including significant functional flexibility response, in as little as two weeks.
Valensa has already started sampling of formulations with astaxanthin and krill oil with BiovaFlex to important marketers of joint health products.
Dr Dennis Casey, president of Biova, noted that the innovative dosage forms Valensa works with, like gummies, softgel, hard shell and tablet products, are significantly lower in dosage amount than existing products on the market. BiovaFlex is said to be especially suitable for these formats as it is water-soluble.
Moreover, such products lower the “pill load”, which can make dosing easier for people that have trouble swallowing traditional pill formats.
