How Daffodils Are Helping Tackle Alzheimer’s

When you look into some of the things that UK life sciences firms are involved with, you’ll stumble across a range of projects and therapies.

One that the British government has recently highlighted is the work of Agroceutical Products, a Welsh bioresearch company that is harvesting daffodils to help produce treatments for Alzheimer’s.

Daffodils contain galantamine, a compound that is known to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s symptoms. Pharmaceutical companies put galantamine in prescription tablets and capsules. The amount of the compound produced in Powys, Wales, is some 20 kilograms per year. That’s enough to help more than 9,000 people with Alzheimer’s.

Former sheep farmer Kevin Stephens is behind Agroceutical Products and specifically grows his daffodils 1,000 feet above sea level in the Black Mountains. The altitude means they produce more galantamine than daffodils grown anywhere else in the world.

The government pointed out that the UK is home to over 5,500 life sciences companies, and that the Department for International Trade can help them expand into international markets, like Agroceutical Products has done.

Mr Stephens commented: “It’s amazing to think that the Welsh national emblem, the humble daffodil, has the potential to improve the lives of Alzheimer’s patients across the world, while providing an economic future for hill farmers and their families across Wales.”

He added that he appreciated the support from the UK and Welsh governments, as well as universities, to “navigate a difficult development pathway”.

There will be many more innovative life science firms and concepts on show at a forthcoming conference, where startups in the sector have the opportunity to meet investors who are looking to support their development.

If you need help developing your life science sales pipeline, get in touch with us today.