Singapore had earlier singled out diabetes as one of its main public health focus and even announced “a war on diabetes” in 2016 to tackle rising numbers of diabetic patients.
Debuting in Singapore, Entity Health’s blood glucose regulating supplement “MomoriX” is primarily aimed at the pre-diabetic individuals.
“Momorix is for people who have been to the doctors and done the pre-diabetes check and have been told by the doctors that they have to start watching their diet and lifestyle because they are inching towards diabetes. They are the immediate target that we are looking at.
“The secondary target will be common people who want to ensure that they have a normal blood glucose level,” Eva Tan, director of corporate and commercial strategy told NutraIngredients-Asia.
As such, the firm is also interested to work with public health institutions in promoting the product which is currently only available online in Singapore.
Besides Singapore, MomoriX is also slated for launch in Australia by the end of this year, where the firm’s products are available in 170 pharmacies and health foods stores in Sydney and Melbourne.
Formulation
Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) and Gymnema sylvestre, medicinal plants native to Asia, South America, and East Africa and have been traditionally used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, are two key ingredients used in the formulation.
Clinical studies have showed that the two ingredients take effect by promoting a hypoglycaemic effect and stimulating insulin release.
Studies have also shown that Gymnema promotes the regeneration of islet cells in the pancreas, hence leading to improved insulin secretion.
In addition, Cursol, which is a patented formulation of curcumin that is 300 times better absorbed than normal curcumin, is also added to reduce post-meal glycaemic response and insulin demand.
Tan revealed that the conceptualisation and development of this product had started last year when the firm started.
“This product has been in the works for a long period. When we launched in the earlier part of last year, we already planned to come out with a supplement that can help to regulate blood glucose levels.
“We then took a few months to conduct market testing to find out its level of efficacy,” she said.
NPD plans
Tan revealed that the firm planned to launch at least three to four products each year.
One factor directing its NPD direction is addressing specific health conditions prevalent in different markets.
In the case of Singapore, diabetes will be a factor driving NPD, while in Australia, skin health supplements will be one of the focus, since skin cancer is a widespread concern in the country.
“We try to address major health concerns that people have using our very unique formula which are backed by scientific evidence.
“The other factor is whether we can find unique formulation that can show effectiveness the moment the consumers consume it,” she said when explaining why general vitamins and minerals would not be a part of the company’s product range.
