The topics of bioavailability and bio-efficacy are increasingly discussed in the supplement space, but not many companies are talking about delivery technologies, said NanoSphere Health’s Chief Science Officer Dr Richard Kaufman.
“There has been very little discovery around delivery technologies in the nutraceutical industry,” he told us. “We’ve seen some with curcumin and CoQ10. We’ve got a curcumin war going on,” he added, referring to developments among curcumin suppliers to enhance the bioavailability of the turmeric-derived compound.
“Let’s work to improve the delivery of ingredients people are already using,” he said. “Very few products are being nano-sized to overcome barriers in the body and allow compounds to pass cell membranes.”
New products
NanoSphere is launching its Evolve Nutrients finished product range at the end of April. The dietary supplement products use nano-sizing of nutraceuticals to enhance bioavailability and bio-efficacy.
Kate Sutton, VP of Marketing for NanoSphere Health, explained that the company’s products are, “size-unique and comprehensive formulas using a nano-delivery system.
“We’re one of the first to bring this nano-delivery to the dietary supplements market. There are so many pills on the market with poor absorption or they’re hard to swallow. Our Evolve products are safe, effective, and easy to use.”
Dr Kaufman added that drug companies have been spending millions of dollars on delivery, and NanoSphere health has adapted the drug delivery technology and developed a platform.
“It’s a disruptive technology to apply drug delivery technology to dietary supplements,” he said.
Only GRAS-approved ingredients
The technology uses natural ingredients – phospholipids – to better pass the cell membranes, explained Dr Kaufman, who brings ten years of working on delivery technologies to NanoSphere Health.
The increases in bioavailability and bio-efficacy are nutrient-specific, he said, but their data indicates increases in between 30 and 1,000%.
“Compounds like resveratrol and quercetin have a very low bioavailabilty, and we can overcome that significantly,” he said.
“We use only GRAS-approved ingredients,” he added. “We’re using mostly lipids, and they’re non-GMO and non-allergenic. They’re bio-compatible materials and we’re making a very natural nanosphere that completely breaks down in the body.”
“By nano-sizing you get complete absorption for better bioavailability and bioefficacy.”
Regulatory
So what about the regulatory considerations? Dr Kaufman said that the technology basically changes the physical properties, versus the chemical properties of the nutraceuticalsm and added that many natural ingredients are already nano-sized. “Light scattering data shows that vitamin C is present in the 60 nm size range,” he said.
The Evolve Nutrients products use proprietary technologies to create nano-sized nutraceuticals that are delivered as a gel from a pump that is pumped into the mouth, he explained. “It’s total simplicity and it doesn’t have the problems associated with pills.
“This is critical because pills often don’t break down and only a fraction of the pills are absorbed.”
The company’s technology is applicable to about 65% of nutraceuticals, he added.
But having great technology is not enough, said Dr Kaufman, the products themselves have to be great.
“Look at multivitamins,” he said, “they’re formulated to contain the minimum for preventing death and disease.
“Our thinking was to make something simple like a gel that is easily used. It’s a new paradigm – multi’s in a liquid that allows people to take less of an ingredient but get more benefits.”
Sutton added that he products will be available exclusively online to begin with.
“We’re the first and only company to use lipid nanospheres to transport a wide range of nutraceuticals,” she said.
Nanosphere is a privately held, family-owned company.