Company Description
Biothera is a U.S. biotechnology company dedicated to improving immune health. We manufacture and market patented, natural ingredients for functional foods, beverages and nutritional supplements worldwide. Wellmune WGP® and our other novel gluco polysaccharide ingredients are clinically proven to safely prime the immune system to keep your body healthy. Derived from the cell wall of a proprietary strain of baker’s yeast, Wellmune WGP mobilizes billions of innate immune cells that are part of the body’s natural defenses. This unique immune health ingredient helps increase their effectiveness without over-stimulating the immune system. Peer-reviewed, published research consistently demonstrates the ability of Wellmune WGP to support protective immune responses during periods of high physical and lifestyle stress. Wellmune WGP’s year-round protection is the culmination of more than $300 million in research with leading university and government institutions. Wellmune is patented, Kosher, Halal, non-allergenic, GMO-free and has broad regulatory approval worldwide, including GRAS in the U.S. The ingredient is recipient of a 2011 SupplySide West Scientific Excellence Award, an IFT Innovation Award and a Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Research Award.

Key Market Areas/Major Products
Biothera’s flagship ingredient Wellmune WGP® was designed for its primary markets of foods, beverages and premium supplements. The company also markets patented BetaRight WGP® for non-premium supplements, WGP 3-6® for the cosmetic and skin care market, APG 3-6® for the animal nutrition market.

What’s New?
The technology of Wellmune WGP has captured mainstream scientific community interest as evidenced by the April 2011 cover story in the journal Nature further elucidating the mechanism of action of this unique immune health ingredient. Additional knowledge of how Wellmune WGP works in the body was published in the June 2011 issue of the journal Blood, making Wellmune one of the best characterized and mechanistically understood ingredients in the natural products industry. This research also confirmed that not all beta glucans are equal. Even among yeast beta glucans, differences in molecular structure can affect bioactivity. So, it is critical that each ingredient be supported by original research conducted with that specific product.

This year, Biothera also collaborated with the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) to develop the first official monograph for beta glucan from baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae), a natural food, beverage and dietary supplement ingredient widely recognized for its immune health benefits. The monograph was recently issued in the Third Supplement of the Seventh Edition of the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), an internationally recognized compendium of standards for the purity and identity of food ingredients. Manufacturers in more than 130 countries rely on the FCC as the leading authority on ingredients.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, November 2011