Our Markets
Home-grown Malaysian Company
Medika Natura has its roots in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The launch of our flagship product, Labeesity®, is the culmination of a decade of research and innovation into the botanical bio-active compounds of plants found in the Southeast Asian region, particularly in Malaysia.
Labeesity® contains SKF7™, the standardised extract of Labisia pumila (Kacip Fatimah), the first botanically-derived ingredient from Malaysia that has received clearance from the United States Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) as a New Dietary Ingredient in 2020.
While we continue to grow our presence in Malaysia with Labeesity®, we are poised to take SKF7™ to the world stage.
SKF7™ has been successfully registered globally in:
- Singapore, as a traditional medicine
- Indonesia, as a dietary supplement
- United States, as a dietary supplement
Ongoing registration in countries such as:
- Canada, as a natural health product
- European Union (EU) and United Kingdom, as a herbal medicine product
- Australia and New Zealand, as a complementary medicine
- China, as a dietary supplement
- South Korea, as a health functional food, and
- United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, as a dietary supplement
We are in the midst of completing a multi-centre randomized clinical trial in Malaysia and Indonesia, which is an essential part of obtaining approval to classify SKF7™ as a botanical drug to treat obesity in Asia and across the globe. This same study has just been completed in India. Read more about this trial here.
Check Out Our Flagship Product
Labeesity®
Market Opportunity
Malaysia is known for its rich biodiversity, comprising of rare and indigenous medicinal plants that have been used in traditional medicine for centuries, to treat various health conditions and bring profound health benefits to mankind.
By combining science, technology and innovation into traditional medicine, Medika Natura has created a niche as a global company offering halal tropical botanical drugs that contain high-value herbal ingredients designed for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industries.
Responding to Global Health Crises
Obesity is a rising global phenomenon and one of the world’s leading causes of death and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), according to the World Health Organization (WHO). More than 1.9 billion adults around the world were recorded as overweight or obese in 2016 [1].
In 2016, chronic diseases driven by the risk factor of obesity and overweight accounted for US$480.7 billion in direct health care costs in the US, with an additional US$1.24 trillion in indirect costs due to lost economic productivity. The total cost of chronic diseases due to obesity and overweight was US$1.72 trillion equivalent to 9.3% of the US gross domestic product (GDP).
In the Asia-Pacific region, the cost of overweight and obesity in Asia and the Pacific is US$166 billion or 0.78% of their annual GDP. About 62% of overweight and obese people reside in developing countries, with the region being home to the largest number of overweight and obese people of about 1 billion, or two in five adults [3]. The economic prosperity enjoyed by these countries in recent decades has exacerbated behavioural and lifestyle shifts in the population — people are eating more calorific foods and leading more sedentary lives — contributing to a rise in obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing numbers of reports have linked obesity to more severe cases of Covid-19 and death. Obese and overweight individuals are more likely to have NCDs, such as diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, and hypertension, which are independent risk factors for severe Covid-19 [4].
In response to these concerns, Medika Natura successfully launched Labeesity®, a dietary supplement derived from Labisia pumila, the herb known in Malaysia as Kacip Fatimah, that tackles obesity and metabolic syndrome. Therapeutic interventions to reduce obesity could also potentially reduce the risk of developing severe Covid-19.
We are currently conducting research into SKF7™ as a potential treatment for diabetes, cancer and Covid-19
References
[1] World Health Organization, Obesity and overweight. Accessible at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight (Last accessed: 9 October 2020)
[2] Shekar, M. and Popkins, B., Obesity: Health and Economic Consequences of an Impending Global Challenge, World Bank Group, 2019. Accessible at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/32383/211491ov.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y (Last accessed: 25 November 2020)
[3] Helbel, M., Asia’s Obesity Time Bomb is Ticking, Brink News, 10 June 2020. Accessible at: https://www.brinknews.com/fighting-obesity-in-asia-and-the-pacific-nutrition-security-weight/ (Last accessed: 25 November 2020)
[4] Sattar, N. et al, Mechanisms for COVID-19 Severity in Obesity. DOI: 10.1161. American Heart Association 2020. Accessible at: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.047659 (Last accessed: 24 November 2020).
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