Selecting a Good Vitamin & Mineral Supplement Part III

The Process

The 6S Quality Guarantee

Pharmanex® uses proprietary technology in its manufacturing process to maintain tight quality controls through all stages of product development. The key to consistent quality is the Pharmanex 6S Quality Process, the basis of the company's pharmaceutical approach to product development. By applying this process, Pharmanex has consistently met or exceeded the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards set by the FDA for this product category. The 6S Quality Process has enabled Pharmanex to become an industry leader in quality and efficacy.

Selection
To locate the botanicals with the most effective health-promoting properties, Pharmanex employs teams of experts from the United States and Asia. These teams conduct exhaustive research-compiling, reviewing, and summarizing historical use and current intelligence about a botanical's properties and health benefits. Pharmanex also conducts original research to identify new botanicals, coordinating with noted professionals at Purdue University, Kansas University, Columbia University, Scripps Research Institute, and Beijing University, among others. Only botanicals that pass extensive Pharmanex tests for authenticity, usefulness, and safety are considered.

Sourcing
Once Pharmanex decides to proceed with a particular botanical, a team investigates potential sources of the botanical and conducts exhaustive analyses on samples from each source. Sources may be domestic or international and may include Pharmanex cultivation areas in China and Chile. Pharmanex chooses a supplier based on the quality and concentration level of the active ingredient(s) present in samples from that source.

Structure
Using state-of-the-art analytical techniques and working in collaboration with respected universities and laboratories in both China and the United States, Pharmanex conducts structural analyses of the natural compounds present in the selected botanical. These analyses isolate and purify specific chemical structures in standardized extracts, a critical step in ensuring a safe and effective botanical.

Standardization
Wide variations in active ingredients are characteristic of any botanical. For example, when Pharmanex analyzes potential Ginkgo biloba leaves, studies reveal the concentrations of active components will vary by as much as 300% depending on season, climate, soil, method of harvest, storage conditions, and processing. Pharmanex optimizes the active ingredients of a product through strict, proprietary standardization processes (to at least one relevant marker molecule). Each capsule of a Pharmanex product contains the same amount of each active ingredient.

Safety
Pharmanex is leading the way in establishing strict standards to ensure the safety of its products. Scientists research and document the history of a product's use and safety. Pharmaceutical-grade tests for the presence of microbes, toxins, and heavy metals are carried out for all products. The active ingredient amount used is based on dosages found effective through clinical trials and is backed by published data on file at Pharmanex. Each product label details directions for use and contains appropriate warning information.

Substantiation
Pharmanex only makes product claims that have been substantiated through documented preclinical and clinical studies. Existing clinical data are reviewed, and when necessary, Pharmanex sponsors studies of its products. Data from some of these studies are subsequently submitted to major international journals for review. This adherence to scientific standards for substantiation helps make Pharmanex a leader in the natural healthcare product industry.