Sabinsa Corporation is now in its seventeenth year. We are proud to have pioneered the manufacture and introduction of several innovative phytonutrients to the US and global markets. In the early years, these were primarily used by the dietary supplement, food and pharmaceutical industries as nutraceuticals. In later years, the focus expanded to include cosmeceuticals with multifunctional applications in personal care products.
Sabinsa Corporation continues to be committed to innovative research and development projects targeted toward fulfilling specific preventive health maintenance needs. A pertinent example is the weight management sector. Over the past 20 years, obesity has risen at an epidemic rate in the United States and the situation continues to worsen. According to the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, one of the national health objectives for the year 2010 is to reduce the prevalence of obesity among adults to less than 15%. The costs involved in the management of obesity and its associated conditions have a significant economic impact on the US Healthcare System. These conditions also have an indirect impact on the country's economy by way of decreased productivity, restricted activity, absenteeism, sick days and increased premature mortality. A preventive approach to obesity through lifestyle management and the judicious use of nutraceuticals presents a practical option to promoting health and wellness.
We strongly believe in our ForsLean ingredient, the forskolin composition supported by an award winning patent, and its ability to safely and effectively help individuals increase their lean body mass and improve overall health. Sabinsa was founded on the premise of creating innovative products through state of the art research, and the 2004 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award received for the forskolin composition is a testament to the company's ongoing efforts in this area. In keeping with our tradition of products supported by solid science, we focused on establishing the safety and efficacy of ForsLean through multicenter clinical trials in 2004. The results were promising, and further strengthened our belief in this healthful ingredient.
The popularity of ForsLean in the US and global markets is particularly heartwarming, in light of the fact that increased demand for the composition has generated the need for sustained cultivation efforts. We have thus been able to enhance the quality of life for a group of farmers in India , through facilitating their participation in Coleus cultivation efforts. About 5000 additional acres of land in the Indian subcontinent are now devoted to Coleus cultivation.
As always, we will remain caring and committed in our contributions to preventive healthcare, and will continue to foster the tradition of quality and innovation that you have come to expect from SABINSA, in the current year and in the years to come.
I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy and Healthy 2005.
