The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently awarded Florida-based Valensa International two new patents, its 17th and 18th in this area, locking down patent protection for the core ingredients related to its commercial blockbusters FlexPro MD and FlexPro ES.
In clinical trials, these dietary formulations for joint health were shown to be 3–5 times more effective in relieving joint discomfort than a standard commercial formulation of glucosamine and chondroitin.
Subjects from the trial reported being “essentially pain-free” after the 56-day study.
The first of the two patents was granted for Flexuron Plus, Valensa’s proprietary, non-animal derived and highly bioactive formula that features medium-chain hyaluronic acid (which has a lower molecular weight than traditional hyaluronic acid), when used in combination with the powerful antioxidant astaxanthin.
Flexuron Plus is now available for licensing as a separate ingredient or finished product.
The second patent was granted to Valensa for their unique, bioavailable Zanthin astaxanthin that has been coupled with phospholipids.
The Flexuron Plus blend of Zanthin astaxanthin (a potent down-regulator of proinflammatory cytokines) and immunogenic hyaluronic acid, enhanced in the presence of phospholipid-based surfactants, has been clinically shown to dramatically reduce knee joint discomfort.
In recent clinical trials, Valensa has demonstrated that this multipatented blend works fast and has a cumulative beneficial effect with time on maximising joint comfort.
Valensa’s joint formulations, including FlexPro MD and FlexPro ES, are available for multiple distribution channels, including retail mass market and specialty health stores.
According to Umasudhan C.P., CEO of Valensa, the ever-growing patent family protecting Flexuron Plus allows Valensa to develop a next generation of highly potent and mechanism-based joint formulations.
“We’re proud that this patent family secures our discovery in Flexuron Plus whose ingredients are central to the effectiveness of our FlexPro MD commercial joint care product,” said Umasudhan C.P., who will be seeking channel-specific commercial partners to license its current and next generation of joint health formulations.
The human clinical study measuring the effectiveness of FlexPro MD, which contains Flexuron Plus, showed dramatic and nearly linear continuous improvement in joint discomfort during the 56-day clinical trial period.
This trial showed that FlexPro MD was 3-5 times more effective in relieving joint discomfort than a standard commercial formulation of glucosamine and chondroitin (positive control arm) or the placebo control arm.
Furthermore, joint discomfort began as early as 7 days from trial initiation and by the end of the study subjects reported that they were essentially “pain-free.”
“Animal studies as well as in vitro cell culture work using real-time PCR confirmed that our mechanism-based approach to product design was not only extremely effective and commercially rewarding, but also provided us with an extended vision into the design of even more potent and cost effective next generation joint healthcare products,” said Dr John Minatelli, Sr VP Business Development at Valensa who led the product development and clinical trials for FlexPro MD and Flexuron Plus.
