Post by Marjolein Meijerink

🚧 How do you identify the right ingredient before investing in product development? In many projects I've seen, development starts with a promising ingredient—and only later the question comes up: does the science actually support this choice? With thousands of ingredients claiming health benefits, it's becoming harder to identify which ones are truly worth pursuing. The result is often lengthy screening, uncertain decisions, and investments in ingredients with limited biological rationale. 🧠 Start with biology Starting from the biological mechanisms underlying a health complaint changes the conversation. It helps identify ingredients with a stronger scientific rationale—and a higher likelihood of success. Whether the focus is on pain, inflammation, metabolic health, gut health, or healthy ageing, a mechanism-based approach reduces uncertainty and accelerates innovation. 🔬 How TNO helps At TNO, we combine systems biology, literature mining, and scientific evidence assessment to: • identify key biological mechanisms and pathways • uncover intervention opportunities • select promising bioactive ingredients • assess the strength of scientific evidence • prioritize ingredients based on relevance and expected impact ✅ The result A science-based shortlist of ingredients, supported by a clear biological rationale and evidence base—helping companies focus development efforts where they are most likely to create value. Let's move ingredient selection from trial-and-error to biology-driven innovation. #HealthInnovation #Nutraceuticals #OTC #Supplements #SystemsBiology #EvidenceBasedInnovation #ProductDevelopment #TNO #FoodInnovation Marty Blom Wim van Hartingsveldt Marc Zegveld Monique Rennen Jasper Kieboom Robert Kleemann Marie Meima Geert Houben Martin Kirch Carina de Jong - Rubingh Joanne Donkers, PhD Eelco Kuijpers Ivana Bobeldijk-Pastorova Daan Kloet