Granola bar with binder?

[BenC]

Hi Everyone,

     I was looking for a project for a marketing class and came across the idea of a granola bar/nutrition bar with phosphate binder.  I am wondering if anyone would be interested in that.  If you are interested maybe you could give me a brief note about how this product might be of use to you and what sort of flavors you might like to see.  Does anyone think this would be helpful keep up with the amount of binder that needs to be taken every week?

Thanks for any ideas!

Ben C

[BigSky]

While the idea is not bad I do not think the actual application would work.

Most phospate binders are available by prescription only.  As such a granola bar with a binder would more likely than not need a prescription also as it would contain a regulated drug.  Really wouldn't seem feasible  to go get a prescription and have it filled for a food product.

[thegrammalady]

......  Really wouldn't seem feasible  to go get a prescription and have it filled for a food product.

if it's medically needed it really doesn't matter what an rx is for. at one time i needed an adaptive stroller for my youngest. i didn't need a rx  to buy the stroller, but because i had one i didn't have to pay sales tax on a $350 purchase.

[BenC]

Hi Guys,

     Thanks for the input.  You would need a prescription for this.  Phoslo would be considered as the binder for the nutrition bar.  And the distribution network for Phoslo would get it where it needs to go. 

     The thought is that having different options to consume a binder would make it easier to keep to the recommended dosages and schedule.  There is a specific program being introduced by Shire Pharmaceuticals called 'On-Track' that has that specific objective in mind.  This would be considered part of a larger offering to help people get where they need to be. 

      I am a student who was told about this idea and thought that it might be useful to run with it as a project.  Who knows.  If there is some enthusiasm, maybe the company will make the product.  I got some GREAT ideas about other products with my introduction.  I did submit some of those ideas through different channels, but I am keeping this one for my academic exercise. 

      Does it seem useful, or something that wouldn't be worth the bother?

Thanks!

[jbeany]

Will it be high protein?  Can it meet more than one need for dialysis patients?  We have very specific diet needs - high protein, low phosphorous, low potassium.  We're not supposed to have high phos foods, so high phos chocolate and peanut butter flavors would be an obvious choice - things we want and aren't supposed to have.

 It doesn't have to be prescription - many patients use regular Tums as their binders.  If the granola bar used the same binder formula as basic tums, there would be no need to make it a prescription product.

Are you picturing this product as a "safe" snack that comes with enough binder to cover only the granola bar itself, or are you planning on it being a substitute for taking a binder, so it can be eaten as dessert or an appetizer with every meal? 

     The thought is that having different options to consume a binder would make it easier to keep to the recommended dosages and schedule.  There is a specific program being introduced by Shire Pharmaceuticals called 'On-Track' that has that specific objective in mind.  This would be considered part of a larger offering to help people get where they need to be. 

I don't understand this - there isn't a schedule for taking binders.  You have to take them every time you eat, period.  If you don't eat, you don't need a binder.  There is no set dose per day or per week - it all depends on how much and how often you eat.

[BenC]

The idea is exactly that.  A nutrition bar that can be eaten instead of taking the binder hopefully accommodating other other dietary needs as well.  Getting a Nutty taste without nuts is a good problem to solve.  If we can make turkey bologna, why can't we make a nutty flavored crunchy bar. 

The basic idea is to allow for some customized options for people to take their binder to 'mix it up' a little bit and break out of the routine feeling.

I had to take a couple of tums last night before bed, which I do on occasion, and I like them.  But imagining having to take two tums three times a day, that fruity/chalky flavor got a little bit of a different feel to it. 

It would be really nice to have a couple of options that don't feel like taking a binder.

That's the idea any way.

And the schedule was probably a bad word.  But people do have a certain goal set by their doctor to control their serum level, and that includes a certain level of binder that hopefully gets adjusted over time.  Is there a phrase that I should be using?

I appreciate your input and help!