First Jacqueline Shan tackled the sniffles. Now she’s tackling more debilitating age-related conditions like arthritis, heart health and cognitive functions.
Dr. Jacqueline Shan
The co-founder and chief scientist for Afexa Life Sciences – best known as the maker of over-the-counter cold remedy Cold-FX – formally introduced her newest company, Afinix Life Sciences, at a press event at the Edmonton Research Park last week.
Like Afexa (which was acquired by Montreal-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals for a rumoured $88 million in 2011), Afinix is a natural-health products company. Its product roster includes four Omega-3-sourced products marketed and sold under the brand name Afinity: Afinity Arthritic Care, Afinity Cognitive Care, Afinity Cardio Health and Afinity Omega Health.
The first three products are condition-specific, while Afinity Omega Health is more of a general-purpose product, said Norman Oliver, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Afinix. All of Afinix’s products use Omega-3 fatty acids, a popular ingredient in natural health remedies, although Oliver said that’s where the similarities end.
“We are not a ‘me-too’ product,” he said. “These products are not designed to come to market to be another Omega-3. We believe that [Afinity’s] quality level is superior to what is out there right now.”
Afinix has plans to introduce “novel” products focused on areas including men’s and women’s health and fatigue.
The Afinix launch comes at a time when Canadians are increasingly adopting natural-health remedies for everyday maladies. According to the Canadian Health Food Association, 70% of Canadians use natural health products on a regular basis, with 45% using them daily.
Afinix soft-launched with a web store early this year, but is currently pursuing distribution agreements with several major retailers. Oliver said that the goal is to secure “significant” commitments from retailers and natural health food stores, with a goal of having its products on shelves by late this year or early 2014.
Early marketing efforts have been primarily online and business-to-business focused, but Oliver said the company intends to ramp up its efforts as its distribution increases.
Asked if Afexa will follow a similar marketing strategy to its predecessor, which forged relationships with franchises in both the CFL and NHL and brought on Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry as its pitchman, Oliver suggested it was too early to talk specifics.
“We’re going to look for opportunities that allow us to connect nicely with our target audience, and as in anything you want to make every dollar count,” said Oliver. “Building a brand is done through a series of initiatives, and we intend to use some of our learning from Cold-FX. We’re fully committed to building the brand.
Oliver described Afinix’s core customers as “active agers” who remain committed to staying fit and are seeking products that can help them age gracefully. “There’s a group of people out there that is looking to live life well… and they live an active lifestyle,” said Oliver. “The consumers we’re looking at are spending time researching the best products available to help them.”
