Two Vancouver researchers are tackling the most commonly diagnosed male cancer in Canada, using a brand new field of genomics called computational chemogenomics. This new approach uses computer modeling in virtual 3D to predict how different chemicals or drugs will affect cancer tumours. The project, titled “Methods of Chemical Genomics” has received $324,000 in funding, with $161,500 from Genome BC and the rest from other partners including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Vancouver Prostate Centre. “This type of ‘virtual screening’ is expected to shave years off the typical discovery process for new drug candidates and will allow scientists to identify and test the most promising chemical compounds more rapidly,” says Dr. Rennie of the Vancouver Prostate Centre.

The new report, “Herbal Supplements and Remedies: A Global Strategic Business Report” by Global Industry Analysts, notes that recent negative publicity surrounding herbal ingredients such as ephedra has tarnished the image of herbal supplements. However, this is now turning around with widespread acceptance of functional foods, supplier innovations and the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for dietary supplements by the FDA. The report notes a “major trend observed in the market” as the shift from single ingredient formulations to “multiple ingredient-based medications” that are condition specific. Multi-herbal formulations are the largest segment, and this is forecast to stay ahead of the pack, with a projected compounded growth rate of 9 percent. The first of the Baby Boomers are turning 65 this year, and the power of this group is reflected in the herbal supplements market, says the report. Herbal and botanical supplements are increasingly seen as natural alternatives for hormone replacement therapy, as well as offering natural ways of improving prostate health, brain health and cognitive function, and joint and connective tissue health.

Organique by Himalaya®, a line of personal care products made by Himalaya Herbal Healthcare, has been awarded Whole Foods Market Premium Body Care certification. Himalaya President & CEO Nabeel Manal announced that all 20 products in the Organique by Himalaya line have been awarded the certification. The seal is Whole Foods Market’s highest mark of quality and cleanliness in personal care products. Describing their certification process as a step in “raising the bar in the industry and the aisles,” Whole Foods Market follows strict criteria in four general areas to award their Premium Body Care certification: results, source, environment and safety. Before awarding their seal to a particular line or product, Whole Foods Market requires that manufacturers conform to a strict, specific list of acceptable and unacceptable ingredients. Organique by Himalaya products are manufactured using organically-grown herbs and organic essential oils. They are free from Parabens, Sodium Laurel Sulfate, Phthalates, Petroleum and over 200 synthetic ingredients. Individual batch testing is performed for gluten-free labelling.

Nordic Naturals announces the opening of its new corporate headquarters in Watsonville, California, registered with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) project. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. The LEED program promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

APN Labs, active in the US for the past ten years, operates a facility and equipment that meet the strict FDA and state health department requirements as well as the current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) guidelines. “With the acquisition of APN Labs, we are now in a great position to provide a complete range of probiotics and other speciality nutritional supplements including our branded products as well as customer private label products,” said Dr S.K. Dash, president of UAS Laboratories. “UAS Labs has extensive experience in formulation of probiotics and other speciality nutraceuticals and we will now be able to offer many more services,” added Dr Dash. APN Labs’s expertise in custom manufacturing and private labels currently allows the development of products from conception to completion for their customers, said UAS, with product options including bulk capsules, tablets and powder.

There’s renewed hope for tens of millions worldwide with neurological vision loss who erroneously believe blindness due to stroke, brain cancer or brain injury to be untreatable. Medical device innovator Vycor Medical, Inc. (OTCBB: VYCO) has acquired NovaVision, Inc. (www. NovaVision.com), the only provider of progressive, scientifically based technologies that reverse and restore neurological visual loss. Together the companies will promote NovaVision’s FDA-approved, non-invasive light stimulation-based Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT) platform clinically proven to permanently restore lost vision resulting from stroke, brain cancer, traumatic or other acquired brain injury. “On average VRT patients permanently recover 5 degrees of central vision, a critical gain for conducting many daily activities,” Tom Bridges NovaVision vice president of sales and marketing notes. More than 10 years of research and data support the efficacy of NovaVision’s neurostimulation therapy approach. The medical devise is expected to be available by a prescription from any ophthamologist, neurologist or physiatrist in the U.S.

Cyanotech Corporation (Nasdaq: CYAN) announced today that its industry-leading product, BioAstin® Natural Astaxanthin, has obtained self-affirmed GRAS status (Generally Recognized As Safe for use in food and beverage applications) by a panel of experts assembled by GRAS Associates, LLC. GRAS assessment documentation has been submitted to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the agency’s review. “Cyanotech is pleased to have BioAstin self-affirmed with GRAS status, which will allow manufacturers to use it in a variety of functional food and beverage products,” said Gerald R. Cysewski, Ph.D., Cyanotech’s Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “BioAstin is used as a stand-alone nutritional supplement or in supplement formulas in over 50 countries worldwide.” All Cyanotech products are produced from microalgae grown at its 90-acre facility in Kona, Hawaii using patented and proprietary technology. Cyanotech distributes to nutritional supplement, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical manufacturers.

Danisco and DuPont already have a history of working together, as they are partnering over the development of second generation biofuels. DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman said: “Danisco has attractive, market-driven science businesses that offer clear synergies with DuPont Nutrition & Health and Applied BioSciences. “This transaction is a perfect strategic fit with our growth opportunities and will help us solve global challenges presented by dramatic population growth in the decades to come, specifically related to food and energy.” The acquisition, which is expected to close in Q2 2011, is expected to take a toll on earnings per share; outlook for 2011 would be reduced by between $0.30 and $0.45 per share, from the previously stated $3.30 to $3.60. DuPont has said it expects Danisco to contribute to cash and earnings in 2012, the first full year of combined operations.

On Monday, December 6, 2010, the Council of the Ontario College of Pharmacists approved for circulation a draft regulation to the Pharmacy Act to enable an expanded scope of pharmacy practice. The proposed regulation outlines the duties of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, interns and students with respect to prescribing a drug, administering a substance by injection or inhalation and performing a procedure on tissue below the dermis as permitted by the Pharmacy Act. The regulation includes requirements that must be met in order to practice the expanded scope and the circumstances in which a member may adapt or extend a prescription or administer a substance. Links to this draft regulation, together with a list of drugs proposed for initiating therapy and a list of substances proposed for administration by injection or inhalation, can be found at http://www. ocpinfo.com/client/ocp/OCPHome.nsf/ web/Notice_ESP.

The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) consulted with 14 vitamin D experts (the likes of Professor Robert Heaney at Creighton and Professor Walter Willet at Harvard) and after reading these 14 different reports – the FNB decided to suppress their reports. In December 2010, the Vitamin D Council directed their attorney to file a federal Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the IOM’s FNB for the release of these 14 reports. The FNB currently recommends 400 IU/day dose for infants and 600 IU/ day in pregnant women. Professor Bruce Hollis of the Medical University of South Carolina has shown pregnant and lactating women need at least 5,000 IU/day, not 600. Dr Hollis has also demonstrated that as much as 2000IU per day in pregnancy does not raise vitamin D to healthy levels.