Canadians set for run at calcium constipation market

03-Jun-2014 - Last updated on 04-Jun-2014 at 13:54 GMT

Study found, “significant improvement in the constipation profile of subjects receiving EffectiCal”.

A health science company is positioning for launch into the calcium bone health market after coming out top in a clinical trial that put it head-to-head with Pfizer’s Caltrate brand. Reduction of constipation side-effects were the main benefits.

SinoVeda Canada’s EffectiCal supplement was found to have the same bone health benefit as Caltrate and Vitamin D3. This was despite EffectiCal having a lower dose of 300mg calcium compared to Caltrate’s 600mg calcium.

But there were also “significantly fewer” gastrointestinal side effects (such as gas or constipation) among participants who took EffectiCal compared to Caltrate, according to results of the as-yet unpublished trial funded by SinoVeda and led by Dr Richard Fedorak, professor of medicine at the University of Alberta.

The trial

The 24-week clinical trial was a double-blind, randomised comparative study to assess the efficacy and safety of EffectiCal versus Caltrate and Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). It involved 97 postmenopausal women who were either given EffectiCal or Caltrate daily.

In terms of the effect on bone reabsorption and bone formation, there was no significant difference. However there was, “significant improvement in the constipation profile of subjects receiving EffectiCal”.

Dr Fedorak stated: “EffectiCal is a compelling supplementation option for individuals concerned about bone loss and osteoporosis. Compared to Caltrate, EffectiCal is a very dose-efficient product and has a very benign side effect profile.”

SinoVeda is looking for a licensee or partner to take its product to a global market and has been featured by the trans-Atlantic Nutrition Capital Network (NCN).

SinoVeda Canada is a privately held company that uses botanical sources to develop nutritional food ingredients, pharmaceutical-grade consumer health products and prescription medicines.

Supplements and fortified foods were targets for EffectiCal, according to Gordon Ngan, VP in business development at SinoVeda.

The calcium and vitamin D-dominated bone and joint health supplements market is expected to reach €6.6bn globally by 2017, according to Global Industry Analysts.