GC Chemie Pharmie Ltd, a Rs 160 crore marketing company in the pharma segment, is entering into nutraceuticals in a big way. The company has just introduced three new nutraceutical ingredients viz., pycnogenol, lactium and neopuntia in the Indian market. GC Chemie is providing consultancy to domestic and international pharma companies for sourcing of raw materials and marketing end products. The company is also offering solutions and providing data for clients.

Gautam Shah, managing director told Pharmabiz, "Nutraceuticals will see tremendous growth in future as these products can be taken for various requirements. With increase in volumes, the demand for Nutraceutical products will also increase. We work on market awareness and on positioning of products. We are, after all, a marketing organization. We are responsible for the quality of formulations." GC Chemie Pharmie supplies these products to several of its clients including some biggest names, in the global pharmaceutical industry.

GC Chemie is offering to make certain formulations through toll manufacturing which leads to significant savings. "The savings come by way of costs and time. The savings come from the fact that the raw material can be sourced at lower rates and small companies that actually manufacture the formulation have few overheads that add to costs", he added. The company has nine offices including one in China and another in Poland. The Chinese arm is especially useful in sourcing from China.

Lactium is a bioactive peptide with anti-stress properties, within a milk protein hydrolysate. This efficient element regulates the stress symptoms such as weight variations; sleep troubles, cardiovascular disorders, digestive troubles, lack of motivation, irritability, skin troubles, lack of concentration, etc. Lactium is the unique peptide in the field of nutrition. As a dietary supplement Neopuntia, has already been integrated into more than the 120 finished products. Due to its lipophilic properties, it can be involved to reduce fat absorption into the body. It absorbs 28.3 per cent of fat from the body.

Pycnogenol is a powerful antioxidant, which acts as a natural anti-inflammatory. Pycnogenol is a proprietary, patented and branded extract ingredient, registered with Horphag Research (UK) Ltd. Horphag is looking to expand the use of Pycnogenol in India to Nutraceutical companies and even the food industry. Alkem Laboratories has already started using Pycnogenol as an ingredient in their cardiovascular product Maxxio.

Pycnogenol is protected by several US and international patents. It has been approved by the kosher and GRAS for functional activity in foods and beverages.

Almost 80 per cent top line sales of GC Chemie Pharmie come from the pharmaceutical sector and 20 per cent from the Nutraceutical sector. "We are planning to set up our new office in Latin America, which will start operation in the second quarter of the 2007. This year we are expecting sales revenue of Rs 210 crore from the pharmaceutical sector. We are getting more and more business from the unregulated market," he concludes.