HoneyLab is a New Zealand company developing health products from natural sources, with its first items coming from kānuka honey.
The company has just signed a multi-million dollar deal with a North American pharmaceutical company which will market and sell HoneyLab's patented topical kānuka honey formulation for the treatment of cold sores, rosacea and acne.
Photo: Susan Murray RNZ
It has taken a decade to get the product from a concept to being ready for selling overseas.
In the words of HoneyLab's chief executive Anthony Lawlor, it's been "a ten-year overnight success".
Unlike most other natural healthcare products where a lot of money goes into marketing, HoneyLab has done extensive research and development, including phase two and three clinical trials, with over 900 triallists, Lawlor says.
This is the "risky end" of the development, and that helped attract Taro Pharmaceuticals - a New York Stock Exchange-registered company.
Taro Pharmaceuticals is heavily into generic pharmaceuticals, and like many global pharma firms now sees natural healthcare as a growth area, but doesn't yet understand the product.
Joining up with HoneyLab is a great option for them because all the scientific work is done, Lawlor says.
"We say here's a proven product, licence it, and sell it on our behalf."
The New Zealand firm will receive royalty payments from each tube of their Honevo topical treatment ointment sold through Taro Pharmaceuticals.
Currently, HoneyLab products are being assessed by the US Food & Drug Administration, Lawlor says, and "we are bullish on our chances of getting that approval".
All going well, Honevo will be on the shelves in North America from the middle of next year.
Lawlor calls it a "real value-added success story."
Kanuka honey is normally worth $40 a kilo, but will be worth $1,500 a kilo because of the IP around it, he says.
Meanwhile, HoneyLab may also need to change its name to something more generic.
It has already presented Taro Pharmaceuticals with second and third-tier product ideas. They are not honey-based and all Anthony Lawlor will admit is that they come from natural products.
Photo: Susan Murray RNZ
