Tishcon: Contract Manufacturing With A Twist
To hear Tishcon founder and president Raj Chopra tell it, “Companies like ours have no business being in business if they rely on contract manufacturing only. Almost all of our customers have either set up their own manufacturing plants or are contemplating doing so. Why do they need us?” He then goes on to explain that it’s the added value that Tishcon offers that makes it successful. “When we started out almost 25 years ago, we were just a contract manufacturer. Today we continue to do that, but we have also expanded the range and types of products we manufacture and we have acquired special proprietary technologies, which have helped us not only survive, but thrive, under extremely difficult conditions.
“Contract manufacturing in the dietary supplement field as we know it is dying,” said Mr. Chopra. “The way for us to succeed is to dedicate our resources towards developing new, more effective dosage forms whose value and efficacy can be validated by established validated testing methodologies.”
Tishcon, headquartered in Westbury, NY, handles the contract manufacturing of a variety of products including soft gels, tablets, capsules and highly soluble softsules (for which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has already issued a Notice of Allowance), manufactured under an exclusive worldwide agreement with Biosytes U.S.A. The company is also involved in developing and manufacturing powdered drink mixes, OTC pharmaceuticals and chewable supplements via its proprietary taste masking technology. At its Westbury site, Tishcon has full service chemical and microbiology laboratories and a newly added laboratory to carry out determinations of nutrients in blood. In addition, the company has two facilities in Maryland, which produce tablets, capsules and granulations and which also handle packaging, finishing, central warehousing and distribution.
The primary concentration recently has been the company’s hydrosoluble coenzyme Q10 product “Q-Gel.” The company recently received an Orphan Drug Designation from U.S. FDA for coenzyme Q10 in the treatment of mitochondrial cytopathies. “We are the first to achieve this and we consider it a breakthrough,” said Mr. Chopra. “We finally have a nutraceutical that will get the respect and recognition it deserves. The fact that the USP is in the process of establishing monographs for coenzyme Q10 and for its tablet and capsule dosage forms will go a long way in raising the standards of quality and lowering the resistance in the medical and pharmaceutical communities to its value as a nutraceutical.” Tishcon is now in the process of lining up clinical studies at various medical centers around the country. “We have researchers calling us, saying ‘we have protocols ready for studies in the area of mitochondrial cytopathies.’”
Also a focus at Tishcon is a combination of carnitine and CoQ10 in a softsule. Tishcon has a non-exclusive license from Sigma Tau Pharmaceuticals (the patent holder) on the combination. “We have successfully combined L-carnitine with our hydrosoluble CoQ10 without comprising the dissolution of the latter,” said Mr. Chopra. “Now we have to build awareness. This is a big ticket item and requires a big commitment; we must educate consumers about its structure/function benefits.”
For the future, a key nutraceutical will be alpha lipoic acid (ALA), said Mr. Chopra. “There is tremendous value in ALA in maintaining optimal health and there is good science behind it,” he said. “We are now looking at developing proprietary, patentable dosage forms.”
Moving in another direction, Tishcon is also developing a cosmeceutical face cream based on hydrosoluble CoQ10. The topical use of CoQ10 is licensed from Q Pharma, the U.S. patent holder. The new cream, “Derma Q-Gel,” also contains other key antioxidants and essential fatty acids and is expected to be on the market in the next two to three months. —E.S.
Tishcon Corporation
30 New York Avenue
P.O. Box 331
Westbury, NY 11590
Telephone: 516-333-3050
Fax: 516-997-1052
E-mail: raj@tishcon.com
Website: www.tishcon.com; www.qgel.com
Circle 152 on Reader Service Card.
