GSK Launches Horlicks Growth+

TEL AVIV, Israel, September 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Nutritional Growth Solutions (NG Solutions) has entered into a license agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Pte Ltd (GSK). GSK will produce and market Horlicks Growth+ a clinically proven formula to enhance height and weight in short and lean pre pubertal children (3-9 years), developed by the Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel.

The formula was launched in India by GSK in May 2016, under the successful Horlicks brand portfolio and supported by an International Speaker Programme headed by Professor Moshe Phillip and Professor Raanan Shamir who shared the science that had informed this contemporary growth product.

To date growth formulas have been focused on supplying calories and active nutrients to provide the additional energy required for growth. In India progress has been made in recent years to address the number of wasted children, however the prevalence of stunting is still estimated at 48%, and with over 20% prevalence in wealthy and middle income families in India, these statistics are below the WHA goals^[i].

In 2014, Specialists at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, led by Prof. Moshe Phillip and Prof. Raanan Shamir demonstrated that an enriched nutritional formula given to healthy short and lean children over a period of 6 months, significantly improved their height and weight without any increase in their BMI. This formula was informed by years of scientific research around the stimulation of the growth plate in long bone, responsible for driving height gain and acknowledges the well established association between adequate nutrition, linear growth and weight gain - which demands balanced nutrition and sufficient calories as prerequisites for linear growth.

The product informed by the work at Schneider, Horlicks Growth +, consists of high protein and contains vitamins and minerals.  

Through a study conducted^[ii] on children, the product has been clinically proven to show visible growth* in 6 months. The product is targeted towards 3-9 year old children who are short or lean [less than expected height and weight] for their age^[iii]. Horlicks Growth+ contains high quality whey protein, amino acids vitamins and minerals. The study results were published in the international medical journal The Journal of Pediatrics.

Lynn Clay, Global Expert Director Nutrition and Digestive Health at GSK, said, "Horlicks Growth+ is a breakthrough product that is a result of extensive scientific research. It provides families with a nutritional supplement for their children. Growth+ contains high quality protein with added nutrients which have been identified by international pediatric experts to support growth in children. We're extremely excited about this launch as we aim to bring best in class products to people when they need them the most, backed up with scientific research at GSK we pride ourselves on."

Prof. Moshe Phillip, Director of the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes at Schneider and CEO at NG Solutions said: "We are very happy to have signed a license agreement with GSK, a world leading consumer healthcare company. This is a major milestone for NG Solutions. We are certain that this collaboration, which will be a new variant in the Horlicks portfolio, will help us transform our research and clinical experience into a product which will help optimize childrens' nutrition around the world".

The Horlicks Growth+ product is available in India on leading e-commerce platforms, pharmacy channels and in modern trade outlets.

https://growthplus.horlicks.in

Disclaimers:  

With 96 grams a day for 6 months vs an unfortified beverage. Clinically proven to help pre-pubertal children [boys (3-9 yrs) & girls (3-8 yrs)] who are lagging behind in growth (height & weight) by shifting up their growth curve in 6 months. Will be beneficial only when there is good compliance to consumption. It is a nourishing beverage to be taken as a part of balanced diet.  

Advanced nutrition refers to nutritional properties of this product making it a good choice for growth and development. Experts refers to the investigators who conducted and reviewed the clinical study  

*Visible growth refers to an increase in the visible components of growth i.e. height and weight. Unlike other growth measures (like increase in bone, muscle, blood etc which happen at the biochemical / clinical / sub clinical levels internally in the body), these two measures of height and weight are externally / outwardly expressed and measured. Hence, the use of term visible growth. 

About GSK Consumer Healthcare Ltd is an associate of GlaxoSmithKline plc.of U.K, one of world's largest consumer healthcare companies. We have a heritage that goes back over 160 years. Our purpose is to help more people around the world to do more, feel better and live longer with everyday healthcare products. Our goal is to build a global, growing business - we call a Fast Moving Consumer Healthcare (FMCH) company - dedicated to everyday healthcare with all of the scientific expertise and quality guarantees that demands, working at the speed and with the genuine consumer understanding the modern world expects. GSK Consumer Healthcare globally owns some of the world's best loved healthcare brands, successful in over 100 countries. These include Sensodyne, Voltaren, Theraflu, Parodontax, Panadol, Polident, Otrivin, Horlicks and Physiogel.

ABOUT Nutritional Growth Solutions  

NG Solutions, established in 2014, is an R&D company dedicated to developing specific, clinically proven nutrition products. Exploring the interaction between nutrition and growth in premature infants, infants, toddlers, children and adolescents, NG Solutions strives to develop leading edge innovations in the field of pediatric nutrition which address current unmet needs of patients worldwide.

Learn more at http://ngsolutions.co/

ABOUT SCHNEIDER CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER 

Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel is a comprehensive hospital, offering the full range of pediatric disciplines under one roof to all children from 0-18. The medical center serves as the national referral center for Hematology-Oncology, Endocrinology and Diabetes, Cardiology, and organ and bone marrow transplantation.Schneider Children's is all about children. It utilizes a unique approach to pediatric medicine where children are treated as children and not as small adults. Since they have different emotional and physical resources for healing, Schneider Children's utilizes a "whole-child-care" multidisciplinary approach, whereby treatment is integrated with emotional, psychological, educational and developmental care.

Learn more at http://www.schneider.org.il/eng

i. http://globalnutritionreport.org/files/2014/11/gnr14_cp_india.pdf

ii. Lebenthal Y, Yackobovitch-Gavan M, Lazar L et al. Effect of a nutritional supplement on growth in short and lean prepubertal children: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Pediatr. 2014; 165:1190-3 (http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(14)00736-7/abstract )

iii. Protein and amino acid requirements in human nutrition. Report of a Joint WHO/FAO/UNU Expert Consultation, 2007. WHO Technical Report Series 935; 185-193.

Media Contact:
Tsipi Haitovsky
Global Media Liaison,
NG Solutions Ltd.
Tel: +972-52-598-9892
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Nutritional Growth Solutions (NG Solutions)