(AUSTIN, Texas, March 2, 2015) The nonprofit American Botanical Council
(ABC) announces that Australia-based Soho Flordis International (SFI) is the
recipient of ABC’s annual Varro E. Tyler Commercial Investment in
Phytomedicinal Research Award. SFI is a global natural medicine company
committed to identifying and developing natural medicines with high levels of
evidence of quality, safety, and effectiveness, and marketing them around the
world.
The
late Professor Tyler — who has been described as one of the most respected men
in late-20th century herbal medicine and pharmacognosy (the study of medicines
of natural origin, usually from plants) — was an early trustee of ABC, dean of
the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Purdue University for 20
years, and vice president of academic affairs at Purdue. He was the senior
author of six editions of the leading textbook in the field, formerly used in
every college of pharmacy in the United States, as well as numerous other
professional and popular books and many articles in the academic literature.
Prof. Tyler encouraged scientific and product integrity, and envisioned a
rational phytomedicinal (plant-based medicines) healthcare sector that valued
the proper evaluation of products’ quality, safety, and efficacy.
SFI
was established in 2010 as a collaboration between Flordis Pty Ltd and SOHO
Group. The company’s brands now include Flordis, Ginsana®, ProThera®,
Klaire Labs®, and Complementary Prescriptions™.
“Today,
Soho Flordis International operates in over 35 countries and has 68 clinical
trials published on our own products,” said Nigel Pollard, CEO of SFI. “Through
our research company, SFI Research, we have eight ongoing clinical trials on
our own products and those of our partners. Our partners in research and
marketing are other pioneers of clinically proven natural medicines, such as
Zeller’s, Madaus/Rottapharm (Meda), Steigerwald (Bayer), Bionorica, Ilhwa, and
Pharmatoka.”
“SFI
has established itself as one of the leading herbal dietary supplement
companies with a portfolio of products that are well-characterized not only
with regard to the phytochemical composition but also their research regarding
safety and efficacy,” said ABC Chief Science Officer Stefan Gafner, PhD. “The
number of current and past clinical studies is a testament to their commitment
to high-quality products. I congratulate SFI for their outstanding work and for
their well-deserved recognition in the form of the 2014 ABC Varro E. Tyler
Award for Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research.”
Ginsana,
which contains the standardized extract of Asian ginseng (Panax
ginseng) root, G115®, has a 35-year history of
scientific investigation and clinical use for increasing physical endurance and
improving immune function. (Ginsana and G115 are trademarks of Pharmaton SA of
Lugano, Switzerland; SFI acquired Ginsana in July 2013.) Initially patented in
1960, Ginsana is the world’s first standardized botanical extract.
Flordis
also produces KeenMind®, which contains the standardized extract of
a traditional Ayurvedic plant from India known as brahmi (Bacopa
monnieri). SFI’s bacopa extract, CDRI08®, has been shown
to promote memory retention and recall, concentration, and focus in five human
clinical trials. Like G115, CDRI08 has decades of research behind it and is
currently undergoing multiple clinical trials to measure its efficacy in a
number of different populations. These trials exemplify testament to SFI’s
commitment to furthering product development and clinical evidence of the
quality and potency of its products.
“We
are really delighted to receive the American Botanical Council’s Varro E. Tyler
Award,” said Pollard. “In fact, our company’s vision was inspired by Professor
Tyler and Mr. [Mark] Blumenthal at a conference 16 years ago in Australia.
Prof. Tyler’s principles of rational phytotherapy underpin these investments
and our vision for natural products in mainstream medicine.”
“SFI
is a company built on the research-based values that Professor Tyler promoted
regarding developing and marketing clinically tested phytomedicinal products,”
said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. “As a research- and
science-based organization, ABC is pleased to be able to recognize SFI for its
many clinical trials and related research achievements.”
Previous
recipients of the ABC Tyler Award include Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Company,
Ltd., of Japan for 2013; Horphag Research of Switzerland for 2012; Bioforce AG
of Switzerland for 2011; New Chapter, Inc. of the United States for 2010;
Bionorica AG of Germany for 2009; Indena SpA of Italy for 2008; and Dr. Willmar
Schwabe Pharmaceuticals of Germany for 2007.
The
Varro E. Tyler Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research Award will be
presented to SFI Founder and CEO Nigel Pollard at the 10th Annual ABC Botanical
Celebration and Awards Ceremony on March 5 in Anaheim, California. The event,
for ABC Sponsor Members, occurs during the NEXT Innovation Summit nutrition,
natural products, and dietary supplements conference and the Natural Products
Expo West.
The
ABC Botanical Celebration and Awards Ceremony is underwritten by generous
contributions from the following members of the herb, dietary supplement, and
natural products industry: