FLAVORx Research Institute Celebrates 6 Month Anniversary: Services Attract Interest from Diverse Markets

Since its inception in mid-December, the FLAVORx Research Institute (FRI) has recorded an tremendous level of interest from pharmaceutical companies (small and large), commercial manufacturers and academic institutions. These groups seek the expertise of FRI to assist them in making products more palatable for consumers. The necessity for FRI arose from the growing demand of pharmaceutical companies looking to improve accuracy of results in drug testing and enhance taste and palatability of the end product. FRI was originally established as the technical arm of the company dedicated to ensuring excellence in compliance in the drug development process. However, the diverse queries received thus far have shown the necessity for FRI in endeavors related to success in academic research initiatives and commercial products. Drugs don’t work if people don’t take them. FRI is a consortium of the industry’s top chemists who have over 10 years of experience specifically in the addition of flavorings to medicines. Because of the sensitive chemical balance of medicines, the flavoring process is highly scientific and a precise formulary must be developed for each drug. FRI research scientists partner with pharmaceutical companies at all phases of development from pre-clinical tests to Phase 1-3 trials and ultimately the final consumer product, absolutely guaranteeing the efficacy and stability of the medication. Making medications more palatable not only pleases the end consumer but also ensures accuracy in research projects and clinical evaluations that involve human subjects. FRI has the capability to flavor end products as well as placebo substances to ensure precise and effective results. Not only are patients able to take medications without difficulty and adhere to therapeutic regimens, but also able to remain unbiased toward the experimental and control group components. The success of a medication, both during and after the test phase, is dependent upon a patient’s ability to take it. According to C. Everett Koop, the former US Surgeon General, "Drugs don’t work if people don’t take them." Ultimately, through adding FLAVORx’s taste-masking agents, sweetening enhancers and FDA approved flavorings companies are able to ensure maximum drug benefit during testing by improving odor and palatability, thus increasing compliance. Though frequently overlooked, compliance plays a key role in the success of a medication. Studies show that lack of compliance is usually due to the bitter or acrid taste of a medication. The common misconception behind flavoring is that it is merely a ‘novelty’, no more than a trivial element in drug delivery. But in essence, it is the integral core to facilitating ingestion of a medication, and maximizing its circulation to make it bio-available to the body’s system. Good flavor is the only way to ensure this. By confirming that medications are taken properly and fully, pharmaceutical companies are able to decrease the margin of error in testing and derive a more comprehensive set of results for the drug approval process. Additionally, partnership with FRI has helped drive end product success (whether medications or consumables) by increasing taste and palatability. Thus far, FLAVORx has partnered with organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, GlaxoSmithKline, the UCLA Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and the HIV-Netherlands Amsterdam Thailand Research Collaboration.