Cosmos Holdings, an international company with a proprietary line of nutraceuticals and distributor of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, OTC medications and medical devices, has announced a strategic partnership with Cloudpharm P.C., a biopharmaceutical R&D company focused on the discovery of bioactive compounds with an emphasis on natural products, with the aim of developing new medicines, cosmetics and nutraceuticals.
The aim of the collaboration is to design, develop, and evaluate a series of innovative products targeting the human gastrointestinal microbiome and related health disorders.
The primary design of these new products will be based on the human gut microbiota function and bioactivity.
Research projects
The first collaborative research project is focused on the microbiome-based management of obesity. Previous studies have demonstrated that the microbiome plays a central role in obesity management.
The joint project aims to increase satiety through the combination of computational tools such as 3D spatial fillers with prebiotic-like natural products. This combined approach of using software and natural compounds is intended to produce products that are fast-acting and have long-term effectiveness. The products will be assessed for efficacy, tolerance, and compliance through a planned clinical trial. The weight management trial, along with a compilation of the clinical data, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023.
Lockdowns have contributed to a further increase in obesity and cardiovascular diseases
The increase in obesity is driving market growth in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical remedies, due to the rising prevalence of related chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and orthopedic diseases. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic and the social isolation that was implemented during lockdowns has contributed to a further increase in obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
Dr Panagiotis Zoumpoulakis, co-founder of Cloudpharm, said: "We are excited to partner with Cosmos to develop new products targeting the gut microbiome, and look forward to launching our joint research project focusing on microbiome-based management of obesity."
Zoumpoulakis explained that the company mission is closely aligned with Cosmos, as they are devoted to developing new and innovative products using high-quality natural ingredients. "Our ongoing collaborations with leading universities and research institutes have contributed to a growing library of synthetic and natural compounds from around the globe that could potentially be used as lead molecules towards new active pharmaceutical ingredients," he said.
Greg Siokas, CEO of Cosmos Holdings, added: "Collaborating with Cloudpharm is an important milestone in developing new IP products targeting major health disorders such as obesity, diabetes, cancer and other prevalent diseases globally."
"The gut microbiome plays an important role in human health by helping control digestion, as well as contributing to the overall functioning of the immune system and other important aspects of health," Siokas explained. "An imbalance of unhealthy and healthy microbes in the intestines may contribute to weight gain, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and other disorders. Cloudpharm is an ideal strategic partner, as their expertise in the field of drug discovery, the wide network of collaborators and the efficient cloud and IT resources, is expected to help us advance high quality pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. We look forward to launching our joint project with Cloupharm to evaluate the effect of the microbiome has on obesity and reporting results of our upcoming trial as they become available."
