Kappa Bioscience has introduced Kappa Solutions, a subsidiary for custom organic synthesis and analytical services for the pharmaceutical and dietary supplements industries. The vitamin K2 ingredient developer's sister company was previously known as Synthetica.
“In 2008, Synthetica researchers were the first to develop and patent a large-scale method to synthesise all-trans vitamin K2 MK-7 in its purest form. Kappa Bioscience was founded on this basis, aiming to bring high-quality Vitamin K2 to the market,” said Egil Greve, CEO of the Kappa Bioscience Group, and Dr Inger Reidun Aukrust, VP R&D and Chemistry.
“Marketed under the brand K2Vital, our synthetic vitamin K2 MK-7 has become the reference standard for analytical labs worldwide, used for both quantity measurement and cis/trans purity assessment. Kappa became the certified vendor to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP),” Aukrust said.
“Kappa Solutions is bringing unparalleled experience in vitamin K2 synthesis, a cGMP certified lab, and a portfolio of organic chemistry and analytical service offerings to our clients. This provides an integrated portfolio, including the USP-certified Reference Standard for K2 MK-7 to meet the increasing demand for customer-centric molecular design and truthful label claims,” says Egil Greve. “We discover better chemical procedures through green chemistry and new technology, paired with proximity and flexibility. Right now we work on novel molecules in an explorative phase, with customers primarily from the pharmaceutical industry.”
With several studies showing that food supplements content often doesn’t meet the label claims, Kappa says, testing is becoming more important.
“In 2013, we started the first global program testing the stability of finished products that contained vitamin K2 together with minerals. Vitamin K2 is not stable in alkaline environments unless microencapsulated. Out of hundreds of products tested, about 90% failed to meet their label claims. Worse, 40% had no detectable vitamin K2,” said Aukrust.
“Stability testing is a major concern. Innovations like ingredients’ microencapsulation or new delivery formats, such as gummies or soft chews, can pose a problem for the analytical labs. But to test, you need to know the appropriate methods, adapted to the product’s composition and galenic formulation. We have the experience developing such methods, and give guidance to labs globally.”
“We introduce Kappa Solutions to strengthen Kappa`s overarching value proposition and harmonise our brand. The new name emphasises the solution-oriented, customer-centric approach of Kappa Solutions and its extensive portfolio for custom organic synthesis, process development, analytical services, and drug (API) development, including cGMP manufacturing, for the pharmaceutical and dietary supplements industries. Kappa Solutions aims to be your preferred partner for drug development and analytical services”, said Dominik Mattern, VP Marketing.
