Designed to ensure comfort and optimize nutrition for women and their babies
SAN ANTONIO, TX (December 8, 2008) – Mission Pharmacal today announced the addition of CitraNatal® Assure to its CitraNatal® family of prescription prenatal vitamins. CitraNatal Assure builds on the benefits of the CitraNatal line and offers increased nutrients for women and their babies.
Prenatal vitamins are an important resource for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. They provide women with the essential vitamins and minerals they may be lacking from a healthy diet alone.
"CitraNatal Assure provides women with all the prenatal essentials of the CitraNatal line, and also offers increased levels of several vitamins and minerals," said Neill Walsdorf, Jr., President of Mission Pharmacal. "Mission Pharmacal is proud to add this unique formulation to the CitraNatal family to offer women another prenatal option to meet their individual needs."
CitraNatal Assure contains 300 mg of Martek's life'sDHA™, a patented, plant-based form of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, which is consistent with current published guidelines for pregnant and lactating women.1 DHA is the recommended essential fatty acid for prenatal care. It has been shown to be instrumental in the baby's pre- and postnatal brain, eye and nervous system development, increase the baby's gestation period, birth weight and size, lead to higher visual acuity at age 60 days, and increase cognitive and psychomotor developments.2-4 DHA cannot be produced naturally by the body; it must be gathered from diet or supplements.
CitraNatal Assure also offers increased levels of iron and vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 contributes to a baby's developing brain and nervous system and may help some women reduce severe nausea or vomiting during pregnancy.5,6 It also helps the body maintain blood glucose levels, metabolize proteins, formulate neurotransmitters for normal nerve cell communication and makes hemoglobin to carry oxygen to tissues.7
Pregnant women may experience improved comfort with CitraNatal Assure. CitraNatal Assure contains calcium citrate, a source known for proven absorption and no gas production to help ease GI discomfort during pregnancy, a gentle dual-iron formulation of carbonyl iron and ferrous gluconate for gentle absorption, tolerability and safety, and a stool softener to help ease constipation often associated with pregnancy.
The CitraNatal family of products offers four unique formulations of essential vitamins and minerals designed to ensure comfort and optimize nutrition for women and their babies. Women who are pregnant or planning to conceive should consult with their healthcare provider prior to beginning any prenatal vitamin regimen.
About the CitraNatal® Line
CitraNatal is marketed by Mission Pharmacal Company based in San Antonio, Texas. CitraNatal vitamins are specially formulated for the many women who require nutritional support prior to conception, throughout pregnancy, and during the postnatal period. The plant-derived DHA found in several CitraNatal products is produced exclusively by Martek Biosciences Corporation based in Columbia, Maryland.
About Mission Pharmacal
Mission Pharmacal is a privately held pharmaceutical company based in San Antonio, Texas. For more than 60 years, the company has been committed to meeting the unique needs of women throughout all stages of life, identifying unmet health needs in the marketplace, and developing innovative prescription and over-the-counter products to meet them. Currently, Mission Pharmacal provides physicians and consumers with pharmaceutical and nutritional products. For more information, visit www.missionpharmacal.com or www.citranatal.com.
Media Contact:
Ami Shah
Cohn&Wolfe
(212) 798-9773
ami.shah@cohnwolfe.com
WARNING: Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6. KEEP THIS PRODUCT OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately.
If you are pregnant, may become pregnant, or recently gave birth, CitraNatal® ® prescription multivitamins are designed to improve your nutritional health. Be sure to talk with your physician or healthcare practitioner prior to starting any prescription prenatal vitamin regimen.
Important Safety Information
All CitraNatal® products contain Folic acid, which has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. Some patients taking Folic acid have reported allergic reactions. Talk to your doctor before taking CitraNatal® if you have a known sensitivity to any of its ingredients.
CitraNatal® products are not for everyone. If you have certain types of anemia (pernicious anemia or other megaloblastic anemias) and you are vitamin B12 deficient, Folic acid alone is not enough to treat your condition. Doses of more than 0.1 mg Folic acid per day can hide the symptoms of these anemias, making them difficult to diagnose. Consult with your doctor to find the treatment that is right for you.
Certain CitraNatal® products contain an all-natural, plant-based form of DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid that is found in the brain and eye. You should exercise caution to ensure that your prescribed dosage does not exceed 1 gram (1000 mg) per day. Taking more than 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day has been shown to have antithrombotic effects, including an increased bleeding time and reduced clotting ratio (INR). Inform your doctor and avoid taking omega-3 fatty acids if you are currently taking anticoagulants (blood thinners) or if you have an inherited or acquired tendency to bleed.
CitraNatal® products include iron. Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under six. Always keep CitraNatal® products and other medications out of reach of children, and in case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately.
To report negative side effects, contact Mission Pharmacal Company at 1-800-298-1087 or the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
- Simopoulos AP, Leaf A, Salem N Jr. Workshop on the Essentiality of and Recommended Dietary Intakes for Omega-6 and Omega-3 Fatty Acids. J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Oct;18(5):487-9.
- Smuts CM, Huang M, Mundy D, Plasse T, Major S, Carlson SE. A randomized trial of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Mar;101(3):469-79.]
- Innis SM, Friesen RW. Essential n-3 fatty acids in pregnant women and early visual acuity maturation in term infants. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):548-57.
- Jacobson JL, Jacobson SW, Muckle G, Kaplan-Estrin M, Ayotte P, Dewailly E. Beneficial effects of a polyunsaturated fatty acid on infant development: evidence from the inuit of arctic Quebec. J Pediatr. 2008 Mar;152(3):356-64. Epub 2007 Oct 22.
- Mahomed K, Gulmezoglu AM. Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) supplementation in pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(2):CD000179.
- Sahakian V, Rouse D, Sipes S, Rose N, Niebyl J. Vitamin B6 is effective therapy for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study. Obstet Gynecol. 1991 Jul;78(1):33-6.
- Dietary supplement fact sheet: vitamin B6 [Internet]. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements; 2007 Aug 24 [cited 2008 Nov 24]. Available from: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb6.asp
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