Industry Suggests NIH Office Of Dietary Supplements Get More Current, Collaborative
Executive Summary
Industry comments on NIH ODS strategic plan focus on persuading it to give trade associations input on its activities, specifically for fact sheets on dietary supplement topics. Stakeholders also want more dialogue with ODS and opportunity to comment on initiatives.
Fact sheets from the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements should be updated to become current with input from industry members, trade groups advise in comments on the office’s draft strategic plan.
Overall, industry groups and members in comments on the draft plan for the ODS’s intended strategies for 2022-2026 said they want more back-and-forth communication with the ODS and opportunity to comment on initiatives, while also urging the office to take up certain pet projects.
The American Herbal Products Association suggests the ODS implement comment-and-review periods for its fact sheets, which “could help reduce the possibility of potential data gaps and could improve the overall impact and relevance of the fact sheets to stakeholders.”
The NIH office lists nearly 200 fact sheets on its website, encompassing specific vitamin, mineral and supplement products and their ingredients as well as broader topics such as weight loss and exercise and athletic performance categories.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition says many of the fact sheets are due for a refresh. The trade group urges ODS to update the information with current research.
For example, the CRN suggests revising the ODS “Dietary Supplements in the Time of COVID-19” fact sheet to incorporate recent studies which it says demonstrate a relationship between higher levels of vitamin D and lower incidences of COVID-19. (Also see "Vitamin D Supplements And COVID-19: Still No Evidence, No Harm In Doing It Anyway" - HBW Insight, 16 Sep, 2022.)
The CRN also points to research regarding the effects of probiotics on different health endpoints that could be updated on the fact sheets.
“Probiotics are a popular category of dietary supplements, and it is important for consumers and health professionals to have access to accurate, up-to-date information that reflects the full range of potential health benefits,” according to the trade group.
Specific Wish Lists
Centrum vitamin line marketer Haleon plc encouraged the ODS to study the “relationship between food intake and nutrition insecurity,” and to include a definition for nutritional insecurity in its strategic plan.
“With 80% of Americans using dietary supplements, we hope that the NIH will consider the broader benefits of these supplements and the crucial role they play in improving the health and wellness of all Americans,” Haleon says.
California firm ChromaDex Corp. asks the ODS to develop a validated biomarker to determine nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide’s role “in health optimization at various stages of life and its role in chronic health outcomes, such as heart failure, sarcopenia, obesity, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.”
The Institute for Natural Medicine suggests in its comments that the ODS can help further NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health Whole Person – Whole Health research initiatives by launching a multivariate efficacy treatment trial to study nutrients.
“Specific nutrients studied by ODS in context with all other nutrients required to address a disease state will yield rich, new efficacy results and fill existing knowledge gaps, since supplements do not work in isolation, they work in a system that includes internal and external determinants of health,” the institute says.
Additionally, while the CRN applauds the office’s development of fact sheets for health care professionals, it points out they may not be aware of the information. It suggests the ODS conduct educational outreach to providers “who generally do not receive adequate education on nutrition and dietary supplements.”
Communication Is Key
The AHPA emphasizes that proposed ODS and NIH activities would be “enhanced by the inclusion of greater external stakeholder input.”
For instance, ODS states in the plan it will continue internal and NIH-wide analyses with other NIH offices and federal partners for funding decisions and research opportunities. The AHPA suggests, however, that external stakeholders could help identify opportunities and fill knowledge gaps that government agencies may not be aware of.
The trade group also would like to collaborate on communication programs. For instance, if the ODS distributes information on updates, educational activities and research to trade associations, the AHPA could in turn expand the communications’ reach, “drawing new academic, industry and consumer audiences to ODS activities.”
The CRN also recommends that the strategic plan include language on developing possible partnerships with industry members because it lacks advice on two-way communication between industry and the ODS.
“Having an industry advisory council with members from both smaller and larger companies, as well as trade organizations, could support continuous two-way communication,” CRN says.
Push For Defined Goals
Public health advocates the National Center for Health Research asks the ODS to better define its goals under the “Addressing Health Disparities and Advancing Health Equity'' section in addition to partnering with minority-serving organizations throughout the research process.
While the NCHR supports “the proposed research and initiatives to reduce disparities and to disseminate information about the research results,” it wants ODS to set specific, measurable milestones and targets as well as develop a timeline for meeting its goals.
“The research goals and achievements need to be explicit and made available to the public,” says the center.
Further, the NCHR recommends ODS expand its plan for training and career development of mid-level scientists to encompass senior-level scientists, and require that studies are conducted in an ethical manner and include and respect minority communities.
The ODS accepted comments on its draft plan through 31 August. (Also see "HBW Market News: CHPA CFO Awarded, Olive Natural Packaging, ODS Plan, IFF South America" - HBW Insight, 7 Aug, 2022.)
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association asked ODS to consider that its Dietary Supplement Label Database could be a model for the Food and Drug Administration if the agency is authorized to require mandatory supplement product listings. (Also see "CHPA Urges NIH Office of Dietary Supplements To ‘Educate’ Congress, FDA On Label Database" - HBW Insight, 23 Sep, 2022.)