Montreal, June 19, 2006 - Duchesnay, a pharmaceutical company based in the Greater Montreal area, announced today the launch of PregVit folic 5, the first and only prenatal high-dose folic acid vitamin-mineral supplement containing 5 mg of folic acid.
"When it comes to meeting the health needs of women planning pregnancy and pregnant women, a 'one size fits all' approach usually fits only a few", said Éric Gervais, Duchesnay's Executive Vice-President. "Therefore the Company created the PregVit Product Family. Our new PregVit folic 5 is mainly formulated for women planning pregnancy and pregnant women who have had a previous pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect, who have a family history of neural tube defects, have diabetes or malabsorption disorders (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease), who are taking folic acid antagonists (e.g., methotrexate) or anticonvulsant drugs (e.g., valproic acid, carbamazepine), or require a high dose folic acid supplement in the opinion of their health professional."
According to Duchesnay, evidence has shown that an increase of 0.4 mg/day of folic acid would reduce the risk of neural tube defects for all women planning a pregnancy by about 36%, 1 mg per day would reduce the risk by 57% and the use of PregVit folic 5 daily would reduce the risk by about 85%.
Similarly to the original PregVit, PregVit folic 5 is packaged in calendar-type blister cards for improved compliance and is available in a 30-day supply. PregVit folic 5 is dispensed on prescription only and is covered by most private insurance companies. Visit: www.pregvitfolic5.com
About Duchesnay Inc.
Duchesnay is the only pharmaceutical company to dedicate itself exclusively to the pregnant women and their unborn children, to ensure that expecting women who require pharmacological treatments for pre-existing or pregnancy-related medical conditions have access to proper counselling and to medications that are proven safe and effective for them and their unborn children. For more information, visit www.duchesnay.com
