Chr Hansen, currently the leading supplier of probiotics to the dairy food market and number two for supplements, will market two bacterial strains isolated from healthy women by Urex Biotech and said to be the world's most studied probiotic strains next to Lactobacillus GG.
The Canadian company has been awarded more than 25 patents over the years for the world's first and only probiotics designed specifically for women.Chr Hansen will be the first to commercialise the Urex strains for use in dietary supplements, with the first product expected to launch in the next two months.
"We will be the first to market with a concept like this," Niels Bak, marketing manager at Chr Hansen, told NutraIngredients.com."While probiotics are not new for vaginal applications this is the first oral supplement targeted at these female problems." American women alone spend almost $300 million annually on non-prescription drugs to treat symptoms related to yeast infections or urinary tract infections. Experts estimate that three in four women at some point experience a urogenital infection.
"There are not enough scientific and clinically documented natural solutions for women's health on the shelves today. We intend to change that," added Dr Gregor Reid, one of the two founders of Urex Biotech.
Supplements containing the bacteria will be able to make claims for 'maintaining and restoring healthy vaginal microflora', thereby preventing infections.
Strong demand for probiotic products and a growing number of different strains available in foods and supplements, has seen manufacturers move to trademark their strains so that they can benefit from the research backing their bacteria.
There is also growing recognition that strains target particular applications.
"Different strains have different characteristics. The Urex strains have been isolated from the vagina of healthy women for this specific application but to protect gastrointestinal health you would look for a strain from the GI tract for example," explained Bak.
Valued at around $12.9 million (€10.2m) in 2003, the European market for probiotic ingredients in applications for human consumption is currently growing at a rate of 14 per cent, estimates Frost & Sullivan.