Thorne Research and Indena Enter Into Strategic Cooperation

SANDPOINT, Idaho, and MILAN, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Thorne Research, Inc., a leader in developing and manufacturing pure, high-quality nutritional supplements marketed through licensed health-care practitioners, and Indena, the world leader in identifying, developing, and producing active compounds derived from plants for use in the pharmaceutical, health food, and cosmetics industries, today announced a strategic research, commercial, and scientific cooperation. Through this cooperation, Indena will offer some of its current products and develop innovative, clinically-validated botanical ingredients for dietary supplements to be manufactured and marketed to licensed health-care practitioners exclusively by Thorne in one or more specific therapeutic areas. Idb Holding, the parent company to Indena, will become a minority shareholder in Thorne Holding, the investment arm of Thorne Research.  

Products developed through this collaboration will focus on specific health needs such as cancer support and diabetes. This cooperation will also support Thorne's established alliances with Helsinn Pharmaceuticals and Integrative Health Resources through development and distribution of products and educational, scientific, and technical information for both patients and healthcare providers.  Indena will also become a contributing partner to the medical portal Healthelements.com for both product quality assessment programs, and safety and activity related information.

"This collaboration represents a major advance in Thorne's ongoing commitment to providing the finest nutritional supplements and health products to clinicians and patients. Indena shares our commitment to improving health, and we expect that this effort will lead to many important advances in supplements based on botanicals and other nutritional products in diverse areas of health including cancer support, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and nervous system disorders in the years ahead," said Paul Jacobson, CEO of Thorne Research.

According to a recent report in Nutraceuticals World, demand for nutraceutical products has continued to expand in recent years despite the recent global economic downturn.  In the U.S., sales of herbal supplements increased more than 3% in 2010, now totaling more than $5 billion annually.  Demand for nutraceutical products is also expected to rise in the EU as well as Asia and South America.   In this collaboration, Thorne and Indena will be positioned to meet the demand for high-quality nutraceutical products with established distribution and sales operations and relationships with leading physicians and other healthcare providers.

Commenting on the news, Daniele Giavini, General Manager of Indena, said: "Indena welcomes this strategic cooperation with Thorne Research, a company that shares our commitment to excellence, quality and purity in the development of dietary supplements.  For more than 25 years, Thorne has developed and marketed a wide range of supplements that reflect the industry's highest standards in safety and efficacy. Through this collaboration we will work to develop a new generation of high-quality supplements with remarkable safety and efficacy profiles that will help people improve their health and quality of life."  

About Thorne Research

Since 1984, Thorne Research has set the standard for exceptional quality manufacturing and formulation of premium hypoallergenic dietary supplements available through licensed health-care practitioners. With more than 280 products, Thorne Research is recognized by health-care practitioners as a global leader in providing dietary supplements of the highest quality and purity. With locations in Sandpoint, ID, and Greenwich, CT, Thorne Research operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and employs more than 170 people. Further information on Thorne is available at www.thorne.com.

About Indena

Indena is the leading company dedicated to the identification, development, and production of active principals derived from plants, for use in the pharmaceutical, health food, and cosmetics industries. Backed up by 90 years of botanical experience, the key to Indena's success is its intense research activity. The company owns more than 150 primary patents and has published more than 700 scientific studies. Indena employs more than 800 staff, including 10 percent dedicated to full-time research activities carried out at Settala Research Center, near Milan. Indena also co-operates with the world's most prestigious universities and private research institutions. Headquartered in Milan, Indena has 5 production sites and 4 international branches throughout the world and manages distribution operations in more than 70 countries. The Company's experts communicate and interact constantly with major international regulatory authorities such as WHO, EMEA, and ESCOP, and cooperate on the update of all the main pharmacopoeias. Further Information on Indena may be found at www.indena.com

SOURCE Thorne Research, Inc.