The Natural Health Products Ingredients Database (NHPID) is a critical resource for those planning a product license application for selling natural health products in Canaada. The NHPID is a repository of all ingredients approved for use in natural health products, as well as information on conditions or limitations for including a particular ingredient in a natural health product (NHP).
During the development stage for an NHP that will be sold in Canada, applicants should make a full comparison of the ingredients in their product against the ingredients listed in the NHPID. This will provide some advanced insight regarding the likelihood of approval and will reduce processing delays or rejection of product license applications. Each listing in the database provides information on the potential role of an ingredient in the product, specifically whether that ingredient can be used as a medicinal ingredient, non-medicinal ingredient or both.
All sections of the NHPID listing should be consulted to ensure the ingredient completely aligns with their listing in the NHPID for characteristics such as the ingredient’s chemical structure, CAS registry number, source material and acceptable preparation methods. For non-medicinal ingredients in the formulation , the role of the ingredient should be selected from the list of permitted roles. This may be limited for specific ingredients and for some routes of administration, for example topical or oral administration.
Applicants should pay close attention to the final section of NHPID listings where additional information on classification of the ingredient is provided. If an ingredient is included in Health Canada’s Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist or the Prescription Drug List, there may be additional restrictions on the use of that particular ingredient in a natural health product, additional safety statements required on the label, and potentially some restrictions for promotion of NHPs with that ingredient.
The NHPID is updated weekly and should be checked frequently before product license applications are submitted. Product classification is a crucial first step to marketing health products in Canada using the database which reflects recent advances in science and updated decisions made by Health Canada regarding the sale of natural health products.
