March 25/Biotech Law Weekly -- Mastix Medica LLC (Mastix) acquired the private label division of Koko's Confectionery & Novelty. The business, operating from a 28,000 square foot facility in Baltimore County, MD, currently manufactures tableted chewing gum and mints for contract and private label customers. Mastix, with an in-house product development team, specializes in developing custom formulations that incorporate nutritional supplements. Future plans will see Mastix expand into manufacturing and marketing its own healthcare products, including supplements and niche generic pharmaceuticals. In support of these growth plans, later this year, Mastix will begin implementing Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as required to meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.
"The scientific, clinical and regulatory gaps between functional foods, nutritional supplements and pharmaceuticals are narrowing quickly," commented Robert Estey, CEO of Mastix. "The result is that consumers have more information and are becoming more knowledgeable about their healthcare product choices. They are now actively choosing how to manage their own wellness and that of their families. In this evolving marketplace, product differentiation will become an even more important requirement to having a protected, competitive and successful product. To meet these dynamic market needs, Mastix is focusing on developing products in emerging, underutilized dosage forms like orally disintegrating tablets and tableted chewing gum. Our directly compressible chewing gum tablets are an excellent delivery vehicle for nutritional supplements and, longer term, for pharmaceutical products," added Estey.