NutraIngredients-Asia Awards 2024
Newly crowned Nutrachampion to advance GLP-1 research, active ageing, women’s health
The company has also identified women’s health, as well as active ageing and sports nutrition designed for women as the other key priorities.
Ramasamy was conferred the Nutrachampion title during the awards ceremony held in Bangkok on September 18. A total of 16 awards were given during the ceremony.
The Nutrachampion title celebrates those who have made a lasting impact on nutrition and the nutrition industry.
Gencor Pacific was founded 25 years ago in 1999 and the company is known in the industry for its clinically studied ingredients, including Levagen+, which is the cold-water dispersible version of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) made using the LipiSperse® delivery technology.
Other examples include LibiFem, which was the winner of Innovations in Women’s Health Award at last year’s NutraIngredients-Asia’s Awards.
Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia a day after the awards ceremony, Ramasamy said the company would continue to build on the growing amount of science on nutraceutical ingredients.
“Currently, I can clearly see that compared to what the industry was 20 years ago to what it is today, there is a lot of good science being done.
“There's a lot of good products being brought up and the knowledge has tremendously increased to understand the value of what proper nutraceutical ingredients and supplements can bring to your health.
“More science is always needed because science is a never-ending quest…As far as we are concerned, research and development and science will always be the cornerstone of our company.”
He highlighted several key research areas for his company, including metabolic health, women’s health, and ageing needs.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 or GLP-1, in this case, is one of the areas that the company is studying for metabolic health.
Ramasamy said his company has identified a compound that could promote the body’s own production of GLP-1.
This contrasts with GLP-1 medications which supply peptides that mimics the actions of GLP-1 to the body.
An appetite hormone, GLP-1 regulates feelings of hunger. As a drug, it is prescribed for diabetics to lower blood sugar levels.
However, there has been a trend of individuals taking it for weight loss, especially in the US. The medications are also linked to side effects such as stomach discomfort, muscle loss, and loose skin.
Ramasamy believes that the compound that his company is studying could serve as an alternative to GLP-1 drugs.
“We are doing a lot of work on natural GLP-1 agonists and natural GLP-1 facilitating compounds which will help you control your metabolism…including aspects of satiety, glucose control, lipid control, fat control.
“We believe we have a compound on that, which helps your body’s natural GLP-1 secretion, and your natural GLP-1 doesn’t have side effects.”
He added that the compound could naturally increase body’s GLP-1 through well-known, established scientific mechanisms.
“We’ve got some good data on that,” he said, adding that metabolic problems, such as obesity remained a big problem in today’s world.
Active ageing and women's health
Another area of focus is sports nutrition, especially solutions catered for the ageing population and women.
“Sports nutrition is no longer restricted to only the younger population. Older people also like to stay active.
“We are also investing in looking at the women’s aspect of sports nutrition. A lot of women are pro-active and so far, majority of sports nutrition products have been related to muscle building and bodybuilding, we are going beyond that.”
The point is to help everyone engage in sports and active lifestyle without hindrance that come from ageing and exercise itself.
For women’s sports nutrition, the company is looking at improving strength, endurance, and mitigate exercise related inflammation and joint pain. This includes solutions that help iron absorption and exercise performance.
Ramasamy, who turns 61 in November is also actively involved in cricket as an active cricket umpire, having umpired over 100 international matches and is a current International Cricket Council (ICC) panel umpire.
Last year, he was also appointed as a technical officer for cricket at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou.
Commenting on his win as the Nutrachampion, the judges said they ”appreciated that Ramasamy has made a significant impact in the nutraceutical industry, driving it forward with science-based ingredients, supporting various universities with funding research, and supporting third-party organizations to achieve their ambitions and goals for health and equity.
“The judges were also impressed with how Ramasamy has effectively managed multiple businesses while also supporting the growth of individuals, sponsoring various teams, individuals, and companies for further education and business development, and never losing sight of the end goal: to provide scientifically validated products for improved health,” said the judges.
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