"Immulina is such a timely product proposition that we believe it has the potential to help develop the immune health category as one of its leading products," said Nordic Phytopahrma CEO and chairman, Carsten Waern.
The supplement is currently available to health practitioners in Denmark and Norway, but the company is in discussions with several companies in the US and Scandinavia to form partnerships.
Based on a bioactive microalgae complex obtained by an aqueous alcohol extraction from Arthrospira platensis, the supplement is reported to have an immune boosting activity 40 times that of Echinacea.
The Echinacea market, currently worth about $300m (€364m), is an obvious target market to go for, but Waern said that since the active dose for Immulina is only 50 milligrams, it could be added to enhance existing products.
"We think we can achieve another market potential. Because the active dose is small, and because it is patent protected, it can be used to enhance existing products containing Echinacea, for example," Waern told NutraIngredients.com.
The company is already in discussion with researchers at the University of Mississippi, owners of the intellectual property of Immulina, to move into functional foods.
"Immulina is one of the most promising projects our Center has produced in recent years, including its intellectual property," said Dr. Walter Chambliss, director of technology management at the University of Mississippi.
Danilo Copiz, vice president of international sales for Nordic Phytopharma said that life science distributors around the world would see the product as a "very attractive proposition for their business".
"A powerful, safe and extremely convenient natural immune booster backed by professional science and protected by intellectual property is a package the market is very receptive to today," said Waern.
It is reported to stimulate dendritic cells and macrophages, which in turn boost the immune system.
"The interesting aspect of Immulina is that it seems to put the immune system's first line of defence on a higher level of alert, making it better prepared to cope with any challenges the body is faced with. At the same time, clinical research has shown a very high degree of safety," said Dr. Nirmal Pugh from the University of Mississippi.