“Unsaturated” oral health sector full of opportunity, says PharmaLinea

13 Aug 2020 --- The oral health sector is a “large and underdeveloped supplement market,” according to PharmaLinea. This is “surprising,” considering the high prevalence of oral diseases. With as many flaws as opportunities in this relatively vacant space, PharmaLinea has launched >Your< Oral Health Sprays. Maja Orešnik, Science & Research Director, tells NutritionInsight how her company could circumvent certain R&D challenges and deliver on strategic consumer trends to take advantage of this seemingly overlooked sector.

“We can only speculate as to why the supplement industry has been slower to pick up on the opportunity, but it likely has to do with FMCG brands traditionally dominating the space. This sector is much more developed – mouthwashes, chewing gums, breath fresheners and candy based on sugar substitutes,” Orešnik details.

“All of these come with certain drawbacks. Most breath fresheners and chewing gums do not address the underlying problem and mouthwash with high alcohol content causes a burning sensation and dry mouth. It can irritate or damage the mucosal lining in the mouth and can be dangerous to children if ingested. Antiseptic products can be too harsh, killing beneficial oral cavity bacteria as well.” 

Ingredients such as probiotics, herbals and essential oils are familiar buzzwords in the supplement sector, but were not go-to components for PharmaLinea. “With probiotics, we are always cautious considering their very problematic stability. There is also the consideration of the specificity of action and the capacity to act when ingested in, say, gummy form, spending such a limited time frame in the oral cavity,” says Orešnik.

The sprays include Qleaf, xylitol and vitamins C, D and K.Moreover, commodity herbals or essential oils often lack direct scientific support, relying solely on bibliographic data. That brings ingredient safety into question due to safe dosages, often not being established, especially for children, she highlights.

Weighing up the risk
When asked if these numerous roadblocks would make tapping into the oral health space “risky” for more companies, Orešnik answers: “I wouldn’t necessarily say ‘risky,’ but oral health is just somewhat of a separate area of health in itself. As such, it can involve additional, different selling points and promotional channels than other supplements.”

Having a certain type of brand with already established channels can be beneficial. “For example, there is the approach of certain pharmaceutical companies with oral health departments expanding into supplements as they have existing relationships with dental specialists. On the other hand, a supplement brand strong enough in solving various health issues can also credibly expand into oral health with its existing channels.” 

PharmaLinea has taken note of interest from both such cases. With the products’ quality and brands’ skills in communicating the underlying science, these sorts of projects are bound to be successful, says Orešnik.

Clear product differentiation
PharmaLinea flags that dental caries and tooth decay are the most common non-communicable diseases in Europe. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that oral diseases affect nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide. Moreover, factors contributing to oral diseases are an unhealthy diet high in sugar, tobacco use, and harmful alcohol use. 

The consumer consensus for preventive health care has also reached the oral health sector. In this space, PharmaLinea developed two >Your< Oral Health Sprays tailored respectively to adults and children. “With >Your< Oral Health Line, we wanted to develop a complete approach with several targeted, scientifically-backed mechanisms of action, including specific antimicrobial activity, breath improvement, as well as the support of gums, teeth and oral cavity,” Orešnik outlines.

Oral health is one of the most common global health concerns, yet the supplement industry is only just picking up on the opportunity.Both sprays include Qleaf that, with its triple effect, inhibits anaerobic bacteria involved in tooth decay, decreases volatile compounds causing bad breath and has an anti-inflammatory effect. “The oral cavity has, similarly to the gut, beneficial bacteria present too. Research done on Qleaf has shown it specifically affects the anaerobic bacteria involved in tooth decay, so it exerts the desired antimicrobial effect in a targeted manner. [This is] as opposed to products such as antiseptic mouthwash that indiscriminately affect the entire oral cavity flora,” explains Orešnik.

Other ingredients include branded vitamins K2, D3, and C and xylitol provide a targeted approach in a refreshing spray. Xylitol has both various benefits and quite strict regulatory requirements. “It is beneficial because it cannot be used as a carbohydrate source by bacteria. It also enables us to deliver pleasant taste, approved by children, without sugar.” 

To ensure the safety and absence of any unwanted effects, the dosages are kept relatively low at 36 mg Qleaf for adults and 18 mg for children, as well as vitamin C (20 mg for adults, 12 mg for children).

Tapping into the most prevalent consumer trends
Delivering this oral health supplement in the form of a spray was a strategic move on PharmaLinea’s side. By ticking off many of the most important consumer trends, the company has already received positive user experience reviews since its June launch.

“The small 10 mL spray format allows us to deliver convenience and on-the-go use, aside from avoiding pill-fatigue. It’s a product that can be dosed several times a day and is handy to have around,” Orešnik notes.

Additionally, the product is vegan, sugar-free, scientifically supported, based on natural extracts – the main ingredient Qleaf being an extract of a well-known plant and considered beneficial in both Eastern and Western cultures. Vegetarian and vegan claims are also increasingly important for new product development, adds Orešnik, as a means of catering to a wide pool of consumer demographics. 

“Vegan or vegetarian claims are especially important for younger generations and for women and children. It is even more important for products that could be considered to address the wider public – not something as specific as, for example, iron deficiency – and for more regular use. If we want to have a formulation with all the supporting studies to be ready to launch in all markets, we now aim to make it vegan.” 

Ultimately, she predicts that the development and launches of supplements are bound to speed up significantly in the next few years, however, the pandemic and economic crisis may take its toll. Factors propelling innovation will likely be the general growth of the supplements industry. Here, growth is measured by exploring all areas of health and the continuous influx of pharmaceutical companies – oral health pharmaceuticals included – moving into nutraceuticals, and the growing popularity of probiotics.

By Anni Schleicher