Market Overview

As populations age, the specter of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis grows ever more menacing. But osteoarthritis and osteoporosis are diseases, and diseases are the realm of pharmaceuticals. So how do nutritional alternatives exist in a realm of pharmaceuticals?

Very well, judging by the most recent market data for bone and joint health ingredients: According to Frost & Sullivan, the US bone and joint health market was estimated to be worth $178 million in 2008, and is predicted to be $246 million by 2015.

While consumers around the world appear convinced of the efficacy, regulatory bodies, and particularly EFSA, consider data from trials with ingredients in diseased people as not applicable to the wider ‘healthy’ population.

Such regulatory disapproval is not stopping sales, and consumers continue to snap up a range of products from shelves, be it supplements, fortified dairy, or fiber-rich cookies. In the first of our webinars, Matt Incles from Leatherhead Food International will lead us on an in-depth tour of both joint and bone health markets.

Bone health

A widespread misunderstanding amongst consumers in that bone health, and the falls and fractures associated with declining skeletal strength, is a concern only for old women. Not so. It is well established that about 35 per cent of a mature adult's peak bone mass is built-up during puberty.

Approaches must therefore extend to different consumer groups if we are to avoid adding to the 75 million people already suffering from osteoporosis in Europe, the US, and Japan.

Looking at the market, the big hitters are obviously calcium and vitamin D. According to the Nutrition Business Journal sales of calcium supplements totaled $1.2 billion in the US in 2009, while vitamin D sales came in at around $430 million. Looking at the market growth tells a different story, however, with calcium supplement sales increasing by about 5 percent, a figure that pales in comparison to the 82 percent increase observed for vitamin D.

But bone health is not just about calcium and vitamin D. As the science advances, our understanding of what is necessary and what is beneficial is also advancing. Increasingly, vitamin K is being touted as a necessary addition to any calcium-vitamin D supplements, while magnesium is also touted as vital in bone health formulations.

And let’s not forget the growing potential of prebiotics like inulin and oligofructose, which have been shown to boost the production of short chain fatty acids in the colon, thereby decreasing the pH and improving the solubility of the calcium present. The calcium is then better absorbed into the body.

The next question is: Is there an optimal formulation, if these ingredients appear to work together? That is precisely what Dr Guru Ramanathan, Sr VP of scientific affairs for GNC, will answer in the second webinar: Designing the ultimate bone health formulation.

Joint health

The joint health market is dominated by glucosamine. Euromonitor International puts the value of the global market for glucosamine supplements at $2bn, and cites an annual growth rate of 7 per cent from 2004 to 2009. In anyone’s world, that is a lot of money.

And glucosamine is not alone, and formulations often also contain chondroitin sulfate. The scientific literature also contains other ingredients with potential joint health benefits, including extracts from French maritime pine bark (Pycnogenol), eggshell membranes (ESM Technologies), seaweed (Marigot and Marinova), and collagen (InterHealth and BioCell).

Consumers are clearly hungry for such products, and the formulations are not limited to supplements, but a variety of food and beverages.

The regulators, however, are not convinced by the science. When you spend $14 million on a trial with glucosamine and chondroitin and you see benefits in people with moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis, you’d think that would represent pretty strong evidence for efficacy. But as we mentioned before, trials in ‘diseased’ populations are not admissible as evidence of benefits for joint health in people with healthy joints.

So how do you show a benefit of an ingredient in people with already healthy joints? Measures of joint health do exist, and studies are already published showing how this can be done. In our final webinar, Dr Doug Kalman from Miami Research Associates, and a veteran of such trials, will share his knowledge.

Our conference program has been specially selected to touch on the issues associated with bone and joint health, offering insights and solutions rather than posing more questions.

We hope you enjoy the conference.