Health

70% of Medicines Contain Substances of Animal Origin – Veggiepharm is Here to Make Change Happen

Veggiepharm was founded by Luc Lamirault and Kévin Bondiguel in 2017 as the very first pharmaceutical company to develop medicines certified without animal ingredients and not tested on animals. The two founders come from Medipha Santé, an independent French pharmaceutical laboratory that develops drugs and acts as a service provider for other French and international laboratories.

Kévin Bondiguel, pharmacist and technical manager of Veggiepharm, believes that is now necessary to develop vegan medicines, as 70% of medicines currently contain ingredients of animal origin.

He explains: “Animal exploitation is commonplace in the pharmaceutical industry. Animals are used for the development of medicines but also to provide substances for medicines and food supplements. This can be avoided and it is very often possible to develop medicines without using animal substances, which is Veggiepharm’s commitment. We have also sought to take better account of the needs of those who decide to eliminate animal sources from their diet by offering food supplements adapted to different stages of life (pregnancy and menopause).

pharmaceutical nutraceutical formulation compound
© Polina – stock.adobe.com

But, is the pharmaceutical industry sensitive to the vegan trend? Bondiguel says, “Although the relationship we have with animals is one of the major issues of our world and our civilisations, the pharmaceutical industry has never really taken up the issue of the use of animals for medicines. Veggiepharm is a pioneer in this field, we are the first pharmaceutical company to guarantee that all our medicines and food supplements are designed and manufactured without using animals.

“In addition, in designing our food supplements, we have thought of those who remove meat from their diet. We do not limit ourselves to the traditional vitamin B12, which is certainly indispensable, but we have added Omega 3 and other vitamins and minerals which are real advantages for a balanced diet on a daily basis and in particular stages of life such as pregnancy and menopause where nutritional needs are different.

veggiepharm-logo
@veggiepharm

We asked about Veggiepharm’s current position and plans for the near future. Bondiguel  responds: “Despite our 4 years of existence, we are just about to start marketing and promoting our products. The objective is firstly to make ourselves known and to work on the deployment of our medicines and food supplements so that they are easily accessible to our customers. At the same time, we will work on improving our offer and expanding it.

“There is a lot of room for improvement, both in terms of consumer medicines and food supplements. We could offer a vegan alternative to most of the medicines on the market. We have already identified several medicines that could join our range and we have developed new food supplement formulas that we may put into production soon.”

Bottle of pills food suplements healthy medicine medication health care treatment additives pharmacy with medicinal fresh plants and flowerson background
© JPC-PROD-stock.adobe.com

Where are Veggiepharm medicines available? “Our medicines and food supplements are available in pharmacies. If our products are not available in your local pharmacy, your pharmacist can order them from his wholesaler within a few hours. We invite interested persons to consult our website to know the pharmacies concerned or to order online in an authorized pharmacy.”

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