Pharmacy

With the pipeline of modern medicines facing a drought and increase in life style diseases, nutraceuticals hold a lot of potential. However, the rural Indian population is still reluctant to go the neutral way due to various reasons. A market check on the prospects that this segment holds...

 The term 'nutraceutical' was coined in the 1990's by Dr Stephen DeFelice, Founder and Chairman, Foundation of Innovation Medicine (FIM), Crawford, New Jersey. He defined nutraceutical as: 'Any substance that is a food or a part of a food and provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease.'

Whereas   Health   Canada,   the department of the government of Canada with responsibility of national public health has modified the meaning of the term since its coining by Dr DeFelice, Thus, the definition of nutraceuticals read: 'A product isolated or purified from foods, and generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated with food and demonstrated to have a physiological benefit or provide protection against chronic disease, e.g., beta-carotene, lycopene.' Speaking on this, Partha Mukherjee, VP - Sales, Angle-French Drugs & Industries Ltd, opines, "Nutraceuticals (often referred to as photochemical or functional foods) are natural bioactive, chemical compounds that have health promoting, disease preventing or medicinal properties."  Continuing in this vein, he says, "They have the potential to play a role in healthy eating and contribute in the prevention and treatment of diseases so that now functional components in food could expand the role of disease prevention and treatment,"

The definition for nutraceuticals in The Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA) was specified under Section 22 (I):

• Plants/ botanicals: Whole or extracts

• Minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes

• Substances of animal origin

Further, according to various other regulatory bodies, a nutraceutical product    should    not    contain the following:

• Drugs defined under the Drug Cosmetics Act (1940)

• Drugs that claim to cure or mitigate any health condition or disorder

• Narcotic/ psychotropic substance defined   under   the   Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substance Act (1985).

Drawing the demographics

In our country, majority of to population lives below the poverty line and it is extremely difficult for them to afford nutritional food further, the modern day living has brought in an imbalance in nutrition, intake, which is high on calories an low on nutritional values. This the primary cause for the increase incidence   of   life style   ailments including cardiovascular disease neurodegenerative condition osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, AID; cancer, diabetes and numerous other health   conditions.   Commenting in this regard, Mukherjee avers Nutraceuticals are currently going through a renaissance, and the prospects for alleviating suffering and improving the quality of life are very strong and have generated an excitement the world over. Additionally, the use of innovative nutritional supplements in the prevention as well as treatment of diseases may stand in competition with existing medicines in the near future." The   nutraceutical   market   in India   is   witnessing   substantial growth.    Elaborating    on    this, V Srividyaranjini, Research Associate - Chemicals, Materials and Foods, Frost & Sullivan, explains, "The total Indian nutraceutical market was valued to be approximately ? 57 billion in 2009, The same is expected to grow at the rale of 18-20 per cent in the forthcoming years." As Srividyaranjini informs, "The market is mainly driven by the rapid increase in urbanized mass, flourishing industries that in turn pave way for economical growth. Further, product acceptance among the mass has also increased with increasing consumer awareness and preference of natural products over synthetic drugs-''

Elaborating on the market scenario, shruti   Pande,   Clinical   Research Associate,    International    Clinical Research,   Wockhardt   Ltd,   avers, "Currently, the domestic market for nutraceulical iri around Rs.4, 40O crore which is just 0-9 per cent of the total global business in the category. India’s nutritional supplemaent market is expected to grow more than double in the next four years at over Rs.9, 500 crore." According to Pande, there are several growth drivers for such market, like,  ageing  population,  changing lifestyle, increasing medical costs, high spending power, awareness of preventive medicine along with the increase in malnutritional diseases.

With an increase in the standard of living and industrialization, lifestyle diseases have become quite prevalent in India, SrividyaranJini opines that this is mainly due to the sedentary lifestyle and mass consumption of junk food that has led to greater consumer awareness towards nutraceutwds thereby increasing the sales of the same.

Partha mukherjee

 Vp-sales, Anglo-French drugs &industries ltd

Again, the soaring industries have an indirect effect on the Nutraceutical market. And a large number of working population in multinational companies is experiencing an increasing standard of living and a rise in the disposable income. Commenting on the Indian market scenario, she says, "Major companies have always maintained high brand equity, and their marketing strategies, involving endorsements by profile actors and media personalities, have been successful in acquiring immense consumer trust." However, the picture all over India is not uniform,

Unfortunately. the

rural population perceive natraceutical food and drink Of western food. They believe that these products are symheSK

and therefore lack nutrition,

Discussing the difference in mindset, Srividyaranjini reiterates, '"I "hey prefer conventional foods and medicines- India houses 72.2 per cent rural population and thus market penetration for such products is a daunting task."

Taking the thought ahead, Gopal Ramourti, MD, Twilight Litaka Pharma Ltd, says, "The nutraceutical market in India is in its infancy and yet to develop. The licensing of these products is either as a food product or as a drug and therefore not yet categorized as a nutraceutical." He further adds, "The legislation is still underway for a proper identification of this industry. The products available in the market today can be broadly divided into the Over- The Counter (OTC) range and those marketed ethically."

Matching the Indian flavour

Indian consumers have always believed in traditional food and herbs for daily nutrients, calorie requirements, for remaining fit and preventing themselves from the onset of diseases. Thus, nutraceutical product manufacturers are trying hard to come up with products that would pertain to the Indian palette. Further, the ingredients used in the manufacturing of the nutraceuticals are considered as one of the premium ingredients in the Indian food ingredient market. It is interesting to note that even the ingredient that go in these products, might need an approval from the finance department. Srividyarannni elaborates, "In order to keep up the margin, the marketers are set to increase the prices in line with ingredient price hike." Talking about the ways these products attract the consumer, Dr Pralhad Patki. Head Medical Services & Clinical Trials, Himalaya Drug Company, elaborates, "Today, there are lots of modern medicines. But as far as safety issues are concerned, people tend to rely more on nulraceuticals as they are made of herbs. As far as nutraceuticals are concerned, efficacy" and safety are the main pointers. Once we convince the scientific society about these pointers, the nutraceutical market is sure to grow." Dr Patki continues, "Interestingly, many of the products like single herb formulation or a nutraceutical  having   components of energy providers like protein supplements become OTC drugs when it goes overseas." He adds that the contribution of nutraceuticals is   quite   sustainable,   especially, in the segment of food and food supplements.   Further, elaborating the popularity of nutraceuticals in overseas market, Mukherjee share

"In Western developed countries, the nutraceutical market is given immense significance, where the dietician along with the physician play an important role in the treatment of the patient. This concept is slowly catching up in India, but the economic factor of the patient determines the availability of the services of the dietician."

Nurratcuticals is a broad arena, A Srividyaranjini   highlights, “Dietary supplements are a mature market when compared to functional fool & beverages and is valued Rs.35 billion with an average annual growth rate of 14-15 per cent per annum." Key supplement types prevalent in India are Chyawanprash vitamins and minerals, proteins an herbal supplements. Herbal and nutra based function; foods & therapeutic nutrition help people to become less drug dependent as also to help them recover from side-effects   quickly   from   other debilitating treatments - like chemo & radio therapy and also the priori sectors like diabetes, hypertension cardiac,   skin,   gynaec,  paediatric, geriatric, etc.

Legal matters

For a company in the nutraceutical segment, compliance with these standards and regulations is extremely essential.  

Thus certification mandatory. Too much content of particular element in the suppler net can also bring about adverse effect Symptoms of iron poisoning include fatigue, dizziness, nausea, vomiting headache, weight loss, shortness t breath and many others.

The regulations of Prevention of Food Adulteration Act did not cover the functional foods, functional ingredients   and   other   dietary ingredients under the food laws. Late FSSA, 2006, which was revised during the period of 2008, included the rules and regulations in details- Discussing the   mandatory   regulations   for nutraceutical market, Srividyaranjini says. "At present FSSA is concentrating on the streamlining the regulations for individual product categories of nutraceuticals. Again, the   Good   Laboratory practice (GLP) certificate is a kind of essential for a nutraceutical player (Gunmen ting in this regard, Dr Patki, avers, "GLP certification ensures that all the tests are done. This is mandatory for evaluating the toxicity study of the concerned product. There are altogether 15 centres in India that have received GLP certification. Further, this certification ensures the acceptance of the product by regulatory bodies and other countries. Again,   for   clinical   practice   in this context. Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines also need to be adhered to."

The next move...

Nutraceuticals is an emerging market in India and is expected to witness s lot more competition. However, Dr Patki feels that deciding the area of focus for nutraceuticals is one of the primary concerns though a fact is that nutraceulicals are important for life style diseases management, cardiovascular disease, etc. Besides these factors, one can also consider the lack of new developments in the drug market. Therefore Dr Patki concludes, "Nutraceuticals see a growing prospect since the pipeline in modern medicines is drying up."

However,   Remount   feels   that there are some serious concerns as far as the nutraceutical segment is concerned. He elaborates,

"Primary challenge is education of the consumers to change their mindset and to counter the misinformation by the interested sparties. This involves extreme hard work supported by deep pockets, strategic planning and execution. Once the consumer awareness is awakened – the demand nutraceuticals will catch up like wildfire, as it happened in Western countries."

There are several factors that promise the healthy prospects of nutraceuticals. Pande opines, "In Japan, England and other countries, nutraceuticals already have become part of the dietary landscape. Consumer interest in the relationship between diet and health has increased the demand for information on nutraceuticals."   She   adds   that credible   scientific   research   also indicates many potential health benefits from food components. These benefits could expand the health claims that are now permitted to be identified by the Food and Drug Administration (FUA).  

Table 1: Key market restraints ranked m their order of impact (India)

Source: Frost & Sullivan

   Soiree; Frost Sullivan