PLT and Laila to bring herbal discoveries to market

PL Thomas (PLT) has entered into a strategic alliance with Indian herbal extracts producer Laila Impex to develop products that meet consumers' needs and bring them to market.

The two companies already have a strong relationship dating back 20 years, and PLT currently markets Laila's products and technologies on a global basis, including 5-LOXIN, a standardized Boswellia serrata extract enriched to 30 per cent 3-acetyl-11-keto-b-boswellic acid.

"This agreement serves to frame the next level of a focused partnership," said PLT president Paul Flowerman.

PLT was not able to give NutraIngredients-USA.com details of the kinds of products that will be bourne out of the alliance, nor of the benefits they may offer, at this time. But a spokesperson said that the first new products will certainly reach the market within the next six months.

Dr GV Subbaraju, VP of Laila Impex, said: "PLT's close ties with the marketplace will help to better identify the exact needs of customers, allowing us to devote our scientific efforts to finding optimum solutions."

At its research center in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, Laila Impex has the resources to develop standardized herbal extracts and phytochemicals, isolate and characterize marker compounds, and carry out custom synthesis and process development for semi-synthetic natural products.

The center is affiliated with Georgetown University and Ohio State University Medical Center.

The company also boasts new extraction facilities and relationships with a hospital-affiliated medical school and college of pharmacy - both partly funded by Laila Impax - where it can carry out human trials and analytical and pharmacological research on the extracts.

When PLT's marketing and sales expertise are added to the mix, the two companies claim their partnership means they can develop new ingredients from discovery right the way to market.