Ulrich Irgens, the head of the newly created Novozymes OneHealth, laid out the strategic vision for the relatively new division of the company in an interview at SupplySide West.
Irgens acknowledged the company’s background in health care, as its corporate DNA stretches back to parent company Novonordisk Pharma. But now the company is looking at health from a wellness support perspective.
Vision had long gestation time
But that focus on consumer healthcare was a long time in gestation, he said. Novozymes spun out of its parent company more than two decades ago, but it had a broad focus, with health care as only one aspect.
“It was really focused more on biotech, predominantly enzymes, but other types of biotech as well. It was really focused on industrial applications, home care, a bit of food and bev, ag, biofuel and so forth,” Irgens said in an interview at the trade show in Las Vegas, NV.
“But about five years ago we realized there was a real need an opportunity to look toward health — not pharma, but in consumer healthcare and not just enzymes but looking at biology more broadly,” he said.
Building a brand
Novozymes had prepared for the launch of OneHealth with a series of strategic acquisitions. Those included Precision Biotics, a practitioner channel probiotics manufacturer, in 2020 and Synergia Life Sciences, an Indian vitamin K2 manufacturer, in 2021.
The new division highlighted some ingredients at the show, including Pylopass Limosilactobacillus reuteri (formerly known as Lactobacillus reuteri) DSM 17648, a postbiotic solution that may help to reduce the load of Helicobacter pylori in the stomach. H. pylori affects about half of the global population and the bacterium may cause gastric upset.
Also at the show, the company presented its probiotic solution for mental wellness called ProbioBrain Bifidobacterium longum 1714. The strain is supported by data from two placebo-controlled clinical trials, which showed an ability to help adults handle the psychological and physical responses to everyday stress, help reduce cortisol output in response to everyday stress, and help to maintain a calm state of mind and emotional balance.
