HEALTH CANADA GRANTS VIVIMIND™ A NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCT NUMBER
VIVIMIND™, a natural health product for the brain, is formally authorized for sale in Canada
LAVAL,QC, Sept. 30 /CNW Telbec/ - BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX: BLU) ("BELLUS Health" or the "Company") announced today that a Natural Health Product Number ("NPN") has been issued by Health Canada for VIVIMIND™, a patented natural health product commercialized by OVOS Natural Health, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary. The NPN grants VIVIMIND™ formal authorization for sale in Canada.
VIVIMIND™ is scientifically proven to help support the specific area of the brain known as the hippocampus, a region responsible for memory and learning. The active ingredient behind VIVIMIND™, homotaurine, is a naturally occurring amino acid with unique properties found in certain seaweed. VIVIMIND™ is intended to be used in normal aging adults.
VIVIMIND™ was subject to over 15 years of significant scientific research, including clinical testing in over 2,000 individuals in European, American and Canadian medical centers. In a large controlled clinical study, VIVIMIND™ was shown to reduce by 68% the hippocampus volume loss in Alzheimer's disease patients over 18 months.1 Regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of VIVIMIND™ were obtained in Italy and in Spain in 2009.
"We are very pleased with successfully obtaining a NPN for VIVIMIND™", said Gary Schmid, President and Chief Executive Officer of OVOS Natural Health. "This formal recognition from Health Canada, which we were confident to obtain, confirms once more the benefits of VIVIMIND™ for consumers who take the product on a regular basis," he added.
"The issuance of a NPN enables us to move forward with our search for a partner to commercialize VIVIMIND™ on a larger scale in Canada," said Roberto Bellini, President and Chief Executive Officer of BELLUS Health. "In the meantime, VIVIMIND™ remains available online to consumers across the country. We are also continuing our negotiations with a view to concluding commercial partnerships in other territories," he concluded.
About BELLUS Health
BELLUS Health is a development-focused health company concentrating on research and development of products that provide innovative health solutions and address critical unmet medical needs. For further information, please visit www.bellushealth.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond BELLUS Health Inc.'s control. Such risks include but are not limited to: the impact of general economic conditions, general conditions in the pharmaceutical and/or nutraceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which the BELLUS Health Group does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation, that actual results may vary once the final and quality-controlled verification of data and analyses has been completed, as well as other risks disclosed in public filings of BELLUS Health Inc. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements. The reader should not place undue reliance, if any, on any forward-looking statements included in this news release. These statements speak only as of the date made and BELLUS Health Inc. is under no obligation and disavows any intention to update or revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstances or otherwise, unless required by applicable legislation or regulation. Please see the Annual Information Form of BELLUS Health Inc. for further risk factors that might affect the BELLUS Health Group and its business.
1 Gauthier S. et al, Journal Nutrition Health Aging, 2009; 13 (6): 550-7.
For further information:
Anne-Marie Durand
NATIONAL Public Relations
514 843-2319
[email protected]
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