This is how we converted our idea into a product.
Our project aims at converting engineered probiotic under current research into a calcium supplement ready for the market. Our product targets seniors suffering calcium deficiency and strives to lower the risks of osteoporosis amongst seniors. It improves calcium absorption rate with the help of probiotic colonization in the human intestines. Our product is highly efficient and does not require frequent intake.
Bottleneck
China has an estimated 70 million osteoporosis patients as of 2006, and more than 200 million people with lost bone mass. Despite the lack of recent epidemiological data, it is estimated that the number of those with osteoporosis and loss of bone mass in China has far exceeded the above figures. Calcium intake is a relatively good way to relieve the symptoms of osteoporosis. At the same time, children and the pregnant also require a great amount of calcium supplements.
However, for the Chinese population, the bottlenecks are as follows:
- insufficient daily calcium intake and patients usually forget to take supplements
- calcium-supplementing pills don’t have great taste
- The body's absorption rate of calcium decreases as calcium intake increases
- Vegetables contain oxalic acid, which will combine with calcium and precipitate as calcium oxalate, leading to stone formation in the body.
However, the currently popular calcium supplement method on the market is either to adjust diet or to consume a lot of calcium supplementing pills. For the elderly, they suffer from poor memory or neglect the importance of calcium pills, often forgetting to consume the supplement; for children, they often refuse to take calcium pills or to maintain some diet high in calcium, thus requiring the "liquid calcium" method to ensure sufficient calcium intake. However, this will reduce the amount of other food taken by children, which is does not promote healthy growth in the long term; for pregnant women, some studies have shown that insufficient activity will also cause a large loss of calcium and their glomerular filtration ability will enhance as the pregnancy progresses, thus the frequency of urination will increase as well. The above factors combined, a large amount of urine calcium will be excreted, and calcium deficiency will occur without timely calcium supplementation. Therefore, adjusting the diet structure and supplementing calcium pills are not the best universal methods to a wide population.
Overall, it’s obvious that the current market is in urgent need for a supplement method that ensures high calcium absorption rate over a long period of time. This will avoid frequent intake of large amount of supplement pills and the precipitation of calcium oxalate. Our product is perfect for tackling these drawbacks.
Product Analysis
Our product is a genetically engineered probiotic which can colonize the intestine and secrete a short peptide. This short peptide increases the amount of soluble calcium by binding to calcium ions, thus increasing the absorption rate of calcium in the intestine and achieves the goal of calcium supplementation.
Firstly, the product is designed for oral use and our target user is the elderly. We worked to a great extent to ensure the safety of our product:
- The product chassis is probiotic and does not produce substances harmful to the human body;
- The short peptides secreted are natural short peptides in sea cucumber tissues, which are not harmful to the human body;
- The expression level of short peptides has a threshold, preventing any excessive calcium absorption that might lead to hypercalcemia;
- There is a kill switch in the probiotic, and the probiotic will commit suicide upon leaving the human intestinal environment.
Based on relevant research, the product is expected to increase calcium absorption by about 100%. In this case, the daily calcium absorption of the elderly can reach the level recommended by the Nutrition Society in China.
Compared with other calcium supplement products such as calcium pills, this product has its unique advantages.
Calcium pills are still exogenous calcium supplements. The amounts of calcium absorbed from calcium pills differ amongst individuals, making it difficult to ensure the effect of calcium supplementation, and there is a risk of excessive calcium supplementation. Our product takes into account the dietary habits of Chinese people, calculates the amount of calcium absorption required and set an absorption threshold value to ensure sufficient calcium absorption while ensuring safety.
From the user’s perspective, calcium pills need to be taken daily, which is very inconvenient for the elderly who need regular calcium supplementation. At the same time, the experience of taking many calcium pills is not great; our probiotic colonizes the intestines and functions within it, meaning that our product has a long-term effect. In theory, the product will always be effective as long as the intestinal flora is stable. Therefore, our product has a great advantage for the elder population and stands out from market competition.
Market Analysis
According to the Chinese Dietetic Society "Reference Dietary Nutrient Intakes of Chinese Residents", the calcium requirement for infants and young children increases with age, from 300mg/day to 800mg/day, and the calcium requirement for adolescents reaches 1000mg/day. The amount of calcium adults require is 800mg/day. For those over 50 years of age, the figure reaches 1000mg/day. The amount of calcium required by pregnant women and breastfeeding also increases accordingly. However, several nationwide nutrition surveys have shown that the calcium intake of residents in most areas of China is highly insufficient, only meeting about half of the required intake, with the small exception of some coastal and pastoral areas.
The target user of our product is the elderly group. The reason why the elderly need calcium is mainly due to changes in hormone levels when they age. Elderly with calcium deficiency are prone to osteoporosis, increasing the risk of fractures. Globally, there are more than 200 million diagnosed with osteoporosis, and Asia has a high incidence rate of osteoporosis. In China alone, about 70 million people over 50 years of age suffer from osteoporosis, and those in their 40’s are also in great risks.