July 21, 2004
Source: The Financial Express

Avesthagen Inks Pact To Hawk Benecol In India

OUR CORPORATE BUREAU
Wednesday, July 21, 2004 at 2325 hours IST

BANGALORE, JULY 20: Bangalore-based biotech company Avesthagen has signed an agreement with the Raisio Group of Finland for exclusive marketing rights to Raisio’s top-selling product ‘Benecol’ in India.

Benecol, a plant-derived product has been shown to lower cholesterol levels. It is widely used as a food ingredient in products such as yoghurt, yoghurt drinks, other milk-based drinks, buttermilk, margarine, pasta, cereal bars, ready-to-eat casseroles, mayonnaise-based salads, cheese and cheese spreads in the US and the EU. Benecol will be marketed by AQUAS, the services and sales arm of Avesthagen. "Avesthagen is rolling out its functional food programme with the marketing of Benecol. We are in talks with several potential customers to make Benecol available in India. Our target market is the large number of food and dairy companies that are developing new products or line extensions that incorporate nutraceuticals of proven value", said Mr Tehmaas Gorimaar, senior vice-president AQUAS.

"It is part of an overall strategy of the company to introduce a line of scientifically proven nutritional bioactives that are effective in addressing health-related problems and can be added to food and beverages. Avesthagen has a strong pipeline of products in progressive stages of research and development to support its plans for tapping the potential of the functional foods market," said Intekhab Mufti, VP, Business Development, Natural Products, Avesthagen.