By Sheldon Baker06.03.19
Detzel is responsible for research initiatives throughout the product development pipeline including product safety and efficacy studies as well as new product development. He has a broad range of experience in areas from GI health to tissue engineering and nanoparticle toxicity. Detzel earned his PhD in chemical engineering from Washington State University.
Health E-Insights: Explain how Entera is part of a network of health and wellness companies?
Detzel: We view supplements and nutrition as a critical part of the entire healthcare ecosystem. As research continues to uncover the interconnectedness of the immune system, the microbiome, and the brain-gut axis it underscores that supporting everyday health is just as important as the timely use of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. Like the other companies in the nutrition industry, Entera Health is striving to create safe products that provide substantial overall health benefits.
Health E-Insights: How is your proprietary ingredient ImmunoLin used in retail product formulations?
Detzel: ImmunoLin is our flagship product. It is a concentrated source of immunoglobulin G from plasma along with other functional proteins normally found in plasma (e.g., albumin, transferrin, other immunoglobulin isotypes, etc.). We partner with companies looking to develop immune and gastrointestinal support products and with customers to formulate products delivering 1-2 grams/day of ImmunoLin across all market channels including direct-to-provider, sports nutrition, specialty retail, MLM, and mass nutrition and retail companies.
Health E-Insights: What is the importance of plasma proteins?
Detzel: The benefits of consuming animal plasma has been a company focus for the past 30-plus years. We have published 300-plus peer-reviewed articles on the use of plasma in maintaining animal health. Published literature has shown improvements in immune function, growth rate, joint mobility, and gastrointestinal function in many different animal models. Given our success in animal health, we developed a concentrated plasma protein product for human health applications. The bioactive proteins in ImmunoLin, particularly the immunoglobulins, can survive digestion and support normal immune function and gastrointestinal health.
Health E-Insights: What are the top two metrics to which your company pays the closest attention?
Detzel: As with all supplement companies, at Entera Health we focus on understanding the ever-shifting market and identification of emerging trends in nutrition and supplements. A benefit of the mainstream growth of the supplement industry is the greater in-depth understanding of how supplements can impact everyday health. This increased understanding has helped us to identify new opportunities for product development and application research. In addition to continuously working on gut health applications of ImmunoLin, we are also focused on research to support healthy aging and the microbiome.
Health E-Insights: Has your company needed to change to keep pace with the industry?
Detzel: As an ingredient supplier, we place a high value on data supporting the ingredients our customers choose to use in their final products. The wealth of information available on the Internet has led to a more educated average consumer. In turn, dietary supplement makers have put increased emphasis on educational content and information to satisfy and reassure the consumer that supplements have been tested and are efficacious. We can best support our customers to this end by continually investing in R&D and generating new data on our plasma protein products and making this data available to our customers.
Health E-Insights: What has been the most effective marketing tactic to educate the industry about your ingredient?
Detzel: The ingredient itself being launched in multiple new products in 2018 generated a lot of organic interest in the product. However, we still view tradeshows and conferences as the best opportunities to directly interact with potential customers and provide a full detailed description of the product and how it can fit within existing product lines and marketing strategies of potential customers.
Health E-Insights: What keeps you up at night?
Detzel: I’m having Aage Lauridsen, our president and CEO, respond to this question in his own words. “Entera’s business has been developing plasma protein products for animal and human nutrition for the past 30 years. I spend most of my time trying to figure how we can leverage what we have learned through our past animal research and extend that to human health. We know that plasma protein health benefits extend well beyond the digestive tract to other areas such as joint health, cognition, and nutrient utilization. My focus is to find ways to develop these new areas through targeted market research and expanding our clinical development program.”
Sheldon Baker is CEO of the Baker Dillon Group LLC and has created numerous nutraceutical brand marketing communications and public relations campaigns for many well-known supplement and food industry companies. For Health E-Insights interview consideration or brand marketing consulting, contact him at SBaker@BakerDillon.com.
Health E-Insights: Explain how Entera is part of a network of health and wellness companies?
Detzel: We view supplements and nutrition as a critical part of the entire healthcare ecosystem. As research continues to uncover the interconnectedness of the immune system, the microbiome, and the brain-gut axis it underscores that supporting everyday health is just as important as the timely use of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. Like the other companies in the nutrition industry, Entera Health is striving to create safe products that provide substantial overall health benefits.
Health E-Insights: How is your proprietary ingredient ImmunoLin used in retail product formulations?
Detzel: ImmunoLin is our flagship product. It is a concentrated source of immunoglobulin G from plasma along with other functional proteins normally found in plasma (e.g., albumin, transferrin, other immunoglobulin isotypes, etc.). We partner with companies looking to develop immune and gastrointestinal support products and with customers to formulate products delivering 1-2 grams/day of ImmunoLin across all market channels including direct-to-provider, sports nutrition, specialty retail, MLM, and mass nutrition and retail companies.
Health E-Insights: What is the importance of plasma proteins?
Detzel: The benefits of consuming animal plasma has been a company focus for the past 30-plus years. We have published 300-plus peer-reviewed articles on the use of plasma in maintaining animal health. Published literature has shown improvements in immune function, growth rate, joint mobility, and gastrointestinal function in many different animal models. Given our success in animal health, we developed a concentrated plasma protein product for human health applications. The bioactive proteins in ImmunoLin, particularly the immunoglobulins, can survive digestion and support normal immune function and gastrointestinal health.
Health E-Insights: What are the top two metrics to which your company pays the closest attention?
Detzel: As with all supplement companies, at Entera Health we focus on understanding the ever-shifting market and identification of emerging trends in nutrition and supplements. A benefit of the mainstream growth of the supplement industry is the greater in-depth understanding of how supplements can impact everyday health. This increased understanding has helped us to identify new opportunities for product development and application research. In addition to continuously working on gut health applications of ImmunoLin, we are also focused on research to support healthy aging and the microbiome.
Health E-Insights: Has your company needed to change to keep pace with the industry?
Detzel: As an ingredient supplier, we place a high value on data supporting the ingredients our customers choose to use in their final products. The wealth of information available on the Internet has led to a more educated average consumer. In turn, dietary supplement makers have put increased emphasis on educational content and information to satisfy and reassure the consumer that supplements have been tested and are efficacious. We can best support our customers to this end by continually investing in R&D and generating new data on our plasma protein products and making this data available to our customers.
Detzel: The ingredient itself being launched in multiple new products in 2018 generated a lot of organic interest in the product. However, we still view tradeshows and conferences as the best opportunities to directly interact with potential customers and provide a full detailed description of the product and how it can fit within existing product lines and marketing strategies of potential customers.
Health E-Insights: What keeps you up at night?
Detzel: I’m having Aage Lauridsen, our president and CEO, respond to this question in his own words. “Entera’s business has been developing plasma protein products for animal and human nutrition for the past 30 years. I spend most of my time trying to figure how we can leverage what we have learned through our past animal research and extend that to human health. We know that plasma protein health benefits extend well beyond the digestive tract to other areas such as joint health, cognition, and nutrient utilization. My focus is to find ways to develop these new areas through targeted market research and expanding our clinical development program.”
Sheldon Baker is CEO of the Baker Dillon Group LLC and has created numerous nutraceutical brand marketing communications and public relations campaigns for many well-known supplement and food industry companies. For Health E-Insights interview consideration or brand marketing consulting, contact him at SBaker@BakerDillon.com.
