A spokesperson told NutraIngredients.com that the trials will involve Enzymotec's pipeline of new products, as well as its existing lipid-based products such as CardiaBeat for heart health and SharpPS and SharpPS Gold for cognitive function.
The announcement is further testament to the company's focus on strong science; a clutch of clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals, as is Enzymotec's aim, adds value to ingredients in the marketplace, at both industry customer and consumer level.
Information was not readily available on precisely how much greater the 2007 R&D budget is compared to previous years, but CEO Ariel Katz said there is a "long-term commitment to re-invest a major portion of our revenue back into R&D".
"We strongly believe that our R&D strategy and expenditure were a major contributor to our success and ability to become a major global player in health areas where we operate," he said.
Enzymotec plans for four clinical trials to take place in hospitals, universities and research institutes in Israel in 2007, the first of which will get underway in January.
The R&D announcement comes on the heels of an announced capacity increase at Enzymotec's phospholipids plant - the third this year, said to be spurred by growing awareness of its new ingredients in the mental and cognitive function category.
The company says it has tripled capacity, but would not reveal precise volumes. Marketing manager Elzphan Hotam told NutraIngredients.com that it is "multiples of tens of metric tons".