There may not be a formal definition of nutraceuticals, but one way to think of them is as any designed food or supplement that has a halo of health benefit. And, of course, this creates a very broad category. Everything from vitamins, to sports drinks, to fortified milk drinks, to complete, pre-prepared diabetic meals could be considered as nutraceuticals.
Nutraceuticals are not new. But there is a new level of activity and development in the category that could have a significant impact on pharma. Some might think that nutraceuticals are trivial and on some level driven by urban myth, like chicken soup for a cold, or by a PR agenda for a particular food – we all recall the 'superfood' days (a term which incidentally was banned in the EU in the summer of 2007). Read the full story.