Straight Dope on Medicine: Candyceuticals

Author

Scott Ganser
January 29, 2024

In the beginning the candymakers began the pharmaceutical industry. When I was at M.I.T., we entertained fanciful notions that candy could be a revolutionary dosage form for drugs. It wasn’t currently being done, and the notion had bright, shining prospects.

Oliver Chase, a pharmacist, invented a lozenge-cutting machine that led to Necco wafers, Sweethearts and the mechanization of candy making.

Chase made apothecary lozenges, rolling ropes of sugar-and-gum dough mixed with medicinal ingredients and cutting them into tablets. There were some rudimentary cutting machines to speed up the process, but it was still slow and painstaking. And demand for lozenges was high, especially when Chase started making versions without medicine, which could simply be eaten as candy.[i]

Why did these dosage forms disappear?

Technology and the potential for overdose. Candy invites overindulgence.

M&Ms, Reese’s, gummy bears, and even cotton candy made an appearance at the Food and Drug Administration on the day before Halloween.

Commissioner Robert Califf was not throwing a costume party.

Regulators were debating the potential benefits and pitfalls of “candy-like” nonprescription drug products such as gummies, particularly for children who often cannot, or do not want to, swallow actual pills.

The mood was more than a little morbid — though participants were at one point offered gummy teeth as a lunch snack from a dentist, who spoke passionately about the potential benefits of sedating kids for dental work with medicated gummy bears.

With that notable exception, most speakers at Monday’s meeting stressed the potential pitfalls of these products, like accidental overdose. Attendees heard, for example, about a 500% spike in pediatric overdoses between 1947 and 1954 after drug companies began marketing kid-friendly aspirin. Two public health officials also presented on the recent rise of emergency room visits for pediatric melatonin exposures.

Now Candyceuticals are coming to you from Boncha Bio, a Taiwanese operation.[ii]

Of course the two biggest draws is that candy dosage forms can make bitter pills palatable and sweet products enjoy larger sales.

'Candyceutical' is a revolutionary, all-in-one solution in the health supplements industry. It merges the concept of 'candy' with nutraceutical, featuring candy-textured soft gel specifically designed to contain high-dose active ingredient fillings. These capsules not only offer an easy-to-chew gummy texture but also boast enhanced effectiveness, thanks to their high bioactivity and absorption rates. 

Given that 80% of active ingredients and nutrients are sensitive to heat, oxygen, and pressure, a crucial question arises: how can these vulnerabilities be effectively tackled? Boncha Bio responded to this challenge by implementing a proprietary production process specifically designed to maintain higher bioactivity in candyceuticals. This approach not only preserves the integrity of sensitive ingredients but also maximizes their efficacy, paving the way for a new era in supplement formulation and delivery. 

From a production perspective, Boncha is able to do this at a low temperature and low pressure. This really cuts down on the destructive aspects of making their products.

Candyceuticals are produced at substantially lower temperatures, around 40°C +/- 10% / 104°F +/- 10%. This is made possible by machinery adjustments and specialized formulations. The unique, non-jelly-like form of candyceuticals eliminates the need for high temperatures during mixing and molding. Furthermore, candyceuticals utilize low compression shaping, not requiring high temperatures and fluidity. This cooler production environment is beneficial for preserving heat-sensitive ingredients such as probiotics (like Bifidobacterium or Lactobacillus), omega-3 (like fish oil, algae oil- vegan DHA), and vitamins. For instance, 95% of probiotic CFU (colony forming units) count is maintained post-production, as verified by third-party accredited laboratory tests.

The Nutriburst product line is the first commercial effort.[iii]

Boncha holds that its candyceutical technology allows for the inclusion of both water-soluble and fat-soluble elements and liquid and powder forms in a single formula. For example, it can merge probiotics with cranberry extracts, providing a complete intimate care solution in one product.

 "This approach is particularly beneficial for challenging supplements like omega-3, known for their fishy notes or unpleasant aftertastes."

 -Alfie Tsai, Managing Director of Boncha Bio.

Boncha are denizens of Taipei City.

Taipei City (臺北市) is the vibrant capital of Taiwan. There are 241 named mountains located within the city boundaries, the highest and most prominent of which is Qixingshan Main Peak (七星山主峰) at1,118 meters (3,668 ft) in elevation.[iv] Taipei is the most populated city on the island, with 2,554,000 people living in its urban area. In fact, roughly one-third of Taiwan’s population resides in Taipei.

Archway of Chiang Kai Shek (CKS) Memorial Hall

There are other biotechs in Taiwan, like Phytohealth. Taiwan does more than make chips you know.[i]

PhytoHealth was the first drug development company to be listed on the Taiwan stock market. The company focuses on developing botanical drugs — medicines with herbal compounds based on traditional Chinese medicine. In 2010, Taiwan approved PhytoHealth’s botanical drug for cancer-related fatigue, which is an injection of freeze-dried carbohydrate molecules isolated from the flowering plant Astragalus membranaceus. The same drug has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. FDA for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura: a blood disorder where the number of platelets in the blood is abnormally low. 

Astragalus membranaceus. Photo/Shutterstock.