Scientific research and technological innovation

Research & Development activities are the beating heart of PharmaNutra. More than 140 clinical studies, basic research and publications have enabled the Group’s companies to acquire top-level technical and scientific know-how and to obtain the recognition of 17 patents and 17 controlled raw materials for the entire value chain, held exclusively on both the Italian and overseas markets.

A unique value and an essential strategic asset, but also the foundations on which to continue to build a future in which scientific progress is at the service of collective well-being, understood as prevention and attention to health.

Scientific collaborations

"We started out with an intuition: to apply the knowledge acquired in food technologies to medicines. The more our research progressed, the more our intuitions, supported by research and field work, became certainties. And those certainties are now our patents."

Germano Tarantino, Chief Scientific Officer, PharmaNutra S.p.A.
Sucrosomial® Tecnology

The development of Sucrosomial® Technology

was developed to solve a concrete problem found in millions of people worldwide. Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common nutritional disease, and most existing martial therapies are highly limiting, on one hand due to the significant associated side-effects and on the other to the known difficulties the body has in absorbing iron.

To solve these problems, PharmaNutra has developed the Sucrosomial® Technology, an innovative delivery system which, thanks to the application of a phospholipid matrix, is capable of protecting micronutrient molecules and increasing their absorption and bioavailability.

After countless in vitro studies, clinical research, analysis, comparisons and publications, in 2010, PharmaNutra filed the patent for Sucrosomial® Technology and, in less than a decade, it managed to revolutionise the iron supplement therapy sector and become an industry leader, thanks to its SiderAL® line nutritional supplements.

Sucrosomial® Iron has been described as the most innovative oral iron in numerous consensus papers and the Sideral® r.m. (Sucrosomiale® Iron) patent was elected “Readers Ingredient of the Year” in 2016 by the authoritative trade magazine Nutraingredients.com. The success in the medical and commercial field has enabled PharmaNutra to invest new resources to further refine and improve its Sucrosomial® Technology, which is currently successfully applied, not only to iron, but to many minerals that are essential for the body: magnesium, zinc, selenium, iodine, calcium and chromium.

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The innovation of Cetylated Fatty Acids (CFA)

The PharmaNutra Group has invested significantly in research to develop a new formulation able to effectively respond to problems relating to the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. The idea comes from our continuous dialogue with many professionals in the sports and physiotherapy world, constantly looking for valid and easy-to-use natural products for motor recovery and muscle and joint well-being. In 2015, the company therefore developed Cetilar® r.m., the innovative patent on which the Cetilar® product range is based, which launched on the market in October 2016.

Cetilar® r.m. is a complex of cetylated fatty acids at high concentrations (7.5% CFA), obtained by the reaction of plant-based fatty acids with Cetyl Alcohol, which can quickly and effectively pass through the skin barrier, which is normally impermeable to many of the active ingredients contained in topical formulations currently on the market. This mechanism not only restores the functionality of the damaged membrane, but also quickly reduces joint and musculoskeletal pain.

In 2020, Cetilar® line products obtained the Play Sure Doping Free certification, granted by the No Doping Life association in technical collaboration with Bureau Veritas Italia. The Play Sure Doping Free label certifies the products as free from any substance considered potentially doping and therefore particularly suitable for those who practice sport at all levels.