Research

We cover all the stages in the process of Research, Development and Innovation from obtaining and developing new ingredients, pre-clinical studies (in-vitro, toxicological using animal models), the formulation of new products, right up to the clinical trials on humans stage.

All of these studies guarantee that our finished products are of the highest QUALITY,SAFETY and have a solid scientific base.

Basic Investigation

In the year 2008, the Laboratory opened a Research Centre in the Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB), one of the country's first science parks, which represents a benchmark in research in the field of Life Sciences on a European level. It showcases both biotechnological companies and public research groups, as well as an extensive range of technology platforms providing support to research.

Our Centre at the Parc Científic de Barcelona represents a bold maneuver by the Laboratory and a step forward in its commitment to research in bioactive food ingredients that contribute to differentiating and improving the Laboratory's products. It involves carrying out exclusive research projects that contribute to generating our internal know-how, in addition to those carried out in conjunction with renowned external scientific researchers.

Our new R&D center at the PCB has a modern research laboratory equipped with the latest technology, most notably the anaerobiosis unit for research on probiotic bacteria.

All of this increases its capacity for research in innovation, and promotes collaboration with renowned scientific teams and companies based at the University of Barcelona and the PCB itself.

The Laboratory’s research team is made up of a multidisciplinary group of doctors specialized in diverse fields such as nutrition, pharmacy, biotechnology, microbiology and clinical pediatrics, all with extensive research-orientated experience.

Additionally, our Research Center works in conjunction with over 50 universities, research and technology bodies, as well as with expert scientists from around the world through national and international consortium R&D projects.

Clinical Research

We also perform the clinical studies required to support the safety and effectiveness of our products. We always ensure to fulfill the strictest protocols and good clinical practice guides, carrying them out in collaboration with hospitals,universities worldwide, and leading world experts in infant nutrition.

The objective of these clinical studies, in addition to guaranteeing the safety and nutritional effectiveness of our products, is to develop and launch new formulas specifically aimed at favoring optimum growth and development in the different stages of life and facilitating the optimal nutritional treatment of different pathologies.

Main Fields of Research

The Laboratory prioritizes the following areas of investigation:

PROTECTION

• Intestinal health: where we investigate the influence of the composition of the intestinal microbiota on the immunological development of the infant, the prevention of infections, the digestive function and the benefits of supplementation using probiotics.
• Food allergies and intolerance: area where we evaluate different protein sources as dietary treatments and the prevention of frequent infant allergies, especially allergies to cow's milk.

OPTIMAL GROWTH

• This area focuses on includes the growth pattern of infants in relation to different food types and the evaluation of the effect of new ingredients on the motor, cognitive development and growth of babies, such as probiotics, prebiotics, or different protein and lipid sources, in the motor and cognitive development and growth of babies.

COGNITIVE AND VISUAL FUNCTION

• We evaluate the effect of certain ingredients, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), on visual and brain development during the first years of life.

MALNUTRITION

• The prevention of obesity: we focus on the development of nutritional strategies for obesity prevention in infants and young children.
• Undernourishment.

WOMEN’S HEALTH

The research is aimed at finding solutions to different situations which women may encounter throughout their lives in order to improve their well-being and quality of life. This area addresses the discovery and evaluation of ingredients, such as vegetable extracts, used for products designed for women's well-being.

Our firm commitment to Research and Development has been the driving force enabling us to make fundamental contributions in the field of Infant Nutrition, primarily the following:

• Infant formulas for healthy babies enhanced with differentiated functional ingredients to ensure that their composition is as similar to breast milk as possible (alpha-lactalbumin, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, beta-palmitate, prebiotics and probiotics).
• Formulas designed to alleviate functional digestive disorders in babies, such as constipation, colic, regurgitation, etc.
• Special formulas designed to treat food allergies and intolerances (cow's milk protein allergy, lactose intolerance, etc.), particularly our formula based on hydrolyzed rice protein due to the high degree of innovation it contains.
• Hydrolyzed cereals with bifidus effect, enhanced with fructooligosaccharides.
• Infusions based on medicinal plant extracts.

The most significant of these is a new probiotic, the Bifidobacterium longum subesp. infantis CECT7210, developed by the Laboratory and validated in clinical studies in adults and infants. It has been incorporated into products such as infant formulas and food supplements which amount to over 35% of the company's sales.

This ingredient has a complete dossier of studies to support the application for a health declaration or Health Claim to the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), whose guidelines were followed for its development.

JOINT HEALTH

Discovery, development and clinical evaluation of bioactive compounds and products intended for the maintenance of joints, tissues and organs involved in people’s movement.