CPB International: Chemicals, Phytonutrients, Botanicals

Making its home in the Pocono Mountains, CPB International, Bartonsville, PA, stands as a full service provider of raw materials to the nutraceuticals marketplace. Originally the company was founded in 1991 to distribute pharmaceutical intermediates and generic pharmaceuticals. However, in 1994 when the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA) was passed, the company saw the nu­traceuticals market as an arena ripe with opportunity. As such, CPB expanded its offerings to the dietary supplement and functional food market.

Over the last two years, ac­cording to Stephen Lukas, vice president, the company’s management has modified how it works and what companies it chooses to represent. Specifically, CPB targets companies that offer innovative, science-based products that it can then turn around and promote with confidence to its customers. Currently, the company exclusively represents a total of six manufacturers worldwide. Among them are Pliva Pharmaceuticals, which is based in Croatia and supplies a stable form of SAMe; Ferco Nutraceutique, which is based in France and supplies Grap’Active™, a grape seed product; Nutrafur, which is based in Spain and specializes in flavonoids, bioflavonoids, polyphenols and botanicals; Neptune Technologies and Bioressources, which is based in Canada and supplies krill oil products; Biotherm Polymers, which is based in the U.S. and India and supplies polymers and resins; Pharmed Medicare, which is based in India and supplies a range of nutritional and cosmetic raw materials, in ad­dition to ayurvedic herbs and AGM Foods, which is based in Australia and supplies a range of organic ingredients.

The services available from CPB range from technical and formulation assistance, research and development to analytical procedures and custom manufacturing. Discussing manufacturing, Mr. Lukas offered, “Obviously standards continue to be the biggest issue at the moment and this is something we take very seriously. In terms of the bioterrorism regulations we have taken the time to register all of the companies we represent. We also audit these companies and supply copies of these audits to our customers.” He added, “Further, all of the products we supply are tested under validated methods and if they are tested under methods with which one of our customers is not familiar then we have no problem supplying them with the appropriate methodology. We are definitely going in the right direction of GMP compliance.”

Looking for a change of scenery and, more important, a larger facility, the company relocated from its New Jersey facility to its Pennsylvania headquarters earlier this year. Ac­cording to Mr. Lukas, the decision to move was not a difficult one. “The new location provides for better distribution being that we are located near a major interstate highway. In addition, the new facility is a lot more accessible to our customers,” he said.

In other developments, the company also recently inked a deal with AGM Foods for its line of products called Grainfields. Mr. Lukas said one of the offerings includes a grain plus probiotic product, which specifically in­cludes Lactobacillus strains of bacteria. This product and others, he said, are well suited for the food and supplement markets.

Commenting on the state of the industry, Mr. Lukas said, “As a company we are quite pleased that people are taking supplements more seriously. One needs to really understand his or her body and what it lacks in order to know what to supplement.” For the future, he added, “There are a lot of issues out there but CPB’s management has been adamant about working strictly with products that are safe. We need more companies to be cautious in order to bring this market to the next level.”—R.M.W.

CPB International
3 Golden Slipper Road
Bartonsville, PA 18321
Telephone: 570-629-0700; 888-539-9781
Fax: 570-629-2100
E-mail: info@cpbweb.com
Website: www.cpbweb.com