Nu Skin forms venture with Toyo & presents new study findings.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc., Provo, UT, has formed a joint research and development relationship with Toyo Bio-Pharma, Inc. (a subsidiary of Toyo Shinyaku, Japan), a natural products manufacturer with facilities in the U.S. and Japan. To facilitate this relationship, the companies have established a new joint venture, NU Toyo Research, Inc., in the U.S.

The companies' collaborative development efforts will focus on sharing scientific and regulatory insights, as well as developing proprietary nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products for Nu Skin sales through its worldwide distribution network.

"We expect this relationship with Nu Skin Enterprises to nicely complement our current expertise in natural health supplements," said Yoshi Shiraishi, president and COO of Toyo Bio-Pharma. "We highly respect the industry-leading research and development capabilities of Nu Skin Enterprises. We believe there is a synergy between the two research teams that both companies can benefit from."

"Toyo Bio-Pharma is a subsidiary of Toyo Shinyaku, which is one of the most reputable supplement and skin care manufacturers in Japan, and we look forward to developing a robust relationship with joint development opportunities," said Joseph Chang, PhD, CSO and executive vice president of product development at Nu Skin Enterprises. "We are eager to leverage their knowledge of navigating regulatory requirements for skin care and supplements in Japan."

Toyo Bio-Pharma's Toyo-FVG pine bark extract has self-affirmed GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status, allowing for its use in a host of cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and functional food and beverage formulations. Beyond dermal health, the ingredient continues to flex its muscles in the areas of athletic recovery, cardiovascular health, circulatory health, periodontal health and bone health.

In other news, Nu Skin presented results and consistency of findings from two large studies at the 15th International Symposium on Carotenoids in Okinawa, Japan. The research concludes that skin carotenoid levels measured with the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner correlate with, and are a good indication of, the body's overall antioxidant defense system. Carotenoids are pigments that are primarily found in fruits and vegetables and have been the focus of intense research to determine their importance in human health.

"The Pharmanex studies demonstrate that we are accurately measuring something meaningful with the Skin Carotenoid Score from the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner," said Joe Chang. "The conclusions reached from this study are another validation of the ability of the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner to accurately depict an individual's overall antioxidant defense system."