The Wellmune Difference

Wellmune WGP® is the most effective and safest immune health ingredient available today.

Wellmune WGP® is:

  • NATURAL. A natural gluco polysaccharide derived from the cell walls of a highly purified, proprietary strain of yeast.
  • EFFECTIVE. Seven clinical studies consistently demonstrate the ability to safely prime key immune cells that keep the body healthy, energized and vital.
  • SAFE. Safely mobilizes neutrophils, the most abundant immune cell in the body, without over-stimulating the immune system.
  • PROVEN. Safety and efficacy is supported by a compelling body of peer-reviewed research resulting from more than $300 million in R&D.
  • ACCEPTED. Broad regulatory approval worldwide including FDA Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) notification, and novel foods status in Europe and China.
  • PROTECTED. Protected by Biothera’s intellectual property portfolio that includes more than 40 U.S. patents and patents pending, plus additional filings in more than 20 countries.

Not all Beta Glucans Are Alike!

Why Wellmune WGP? Why not other beta glucans? Aren’t they just as effective?

The answer—confirmed by research—is that not all beta glucans are alike. Studies have shown that Wellmune specifically has the ability to help prime the innate immune system to protect the body.

The research led by David Underhill, Ph.D. was so significant that it was published as the cover story in the journal Nature (April 28, 2011). Their work demonstrated that beta glucan size and molecular structure is critical to receptor binding and the resulting innate immune cell response. The Underhill team found that specific beta glucan structures (namely Wellmune) bind to a particular receptor (Dectin-1) while other beta glucans structures did not.

The study shows that Dectin-1 distinguishes between direct microbial contact and detection of microbes at a distance, a distinction that enables effective microbial killing responses. When bound to Biothera’s Wellmune WGP®, Dectin-1 signaling primed immune cells for phagocytosis, a mechanism used to recognize and destroy pathogens.

“This research demonstrates that the structure of beta glucans matters,” said William Grossman, M.D., Ph.D., Biothera senior vice president of Research & Development. “Even slight molecular differences in beta glucans affect the signaling pathways used to induce different killing mechanisms.”

The title of the Nature paper is “Activation of the Innate Immune Receptor Dectin-1 upon Formation of a ‘Phagocytic Synapse.’”

Setting The Standard

Wellmune WGP really is the gold standard for beta glucan from baker’s yeast.

Until recently there was no industry standard but in September 2011 standards body United States Pharmacopeia issued the first official monograph identifying and qualifying the purity of beta glucan 1,3/1,6 from baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae).

The monograph was issued in the Third Supplement of the Seventh Edition of the Food Chemicals Codex, an internationally recognized compendium of standards for the purity and identity of food ingredients.

Biothera contributed the reference standard and two methods for identifying and quantifying the beta 1,3/1,6 branched glucan polymer derived from the cell walls of bakers yeast plus additional methods to assure the purity of the material.

Biothera chief executive Richard Mueller said, “Based on our analysis of other bakers yeast beta glucans, we believe that many products do not comply with the new monograph.”