Dear Threaders,
Paracelsian's Annual Meeting could not have come at a worse time for me. I had just returned from four intense days in Chicago (The American Philosophical Association), and I returned-after 12 hours on Amtrack--to final grading, Baccalaureate, Commencement, and a reception for my wife's graduates (and significant others, families, friends, etc.): more than 100 people in the home last night.
If there had been urgent news, I would have managed a prompt (albeit short) post. In point of fact, there was much that was important, but none that was really urgent.
The crowd was sparse: 23, by my count. All the members of the Board, except for Israelson, were in attendance. Needless to say (note the votes held by Biomar) the ballot measures passed.
In my judgement, the most important general characterization of the Meeting is this: the new management team exuded a quiet but quite unmistakable confidence. They have a very clear vision of Paracelisan's future, and harbor no doubts about their abilities to get there.
Bernie Landes did a slide presentation; the main subject was BioFIT: Bio Function Integrity Testing. By way of background: very little is being done by the dietary supplements industry to assure the public that the stuff in the container will have the impact on "structure and function" that the producer claims that it will. This has become a concern of Congress, and thus a concern of the industry.
Paracelsian is offering an array of assays--some proprietary, some not--that can assure the buying public (and the concerned members of Congress) that the stuff in the container will indeed have the effects on "structure and function" that the marketer claims that it will. Paracelsian, through its BioFIT testing, is looking to become the Company that provides the assurance.
Additionally, numerous major pharmaceuticals want to enter the market for natural products; all are looking for a way to "distinguish" themselves from the competition--extant and anticipated. The functional assays of BioFIT are being offered as a way for dietary supplement companies to distinguish themselves from the competition.
Of course it would have been inappropriate for management to say very much, but I got the impression that Nature's Way might well be the first to distinguish itself from the competition by offering BioFIT certified products.
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