Some dietary supplement providers have seen a recent spike in sales, while major pharmaceutical firms partner with global health organizations to develop synthetic chemicals to stave off the novel coronavirus.

As the deadly COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on the U.S. and world economies, a spotlight has been thrust onto preventative health measures, including social-distancing, handwashing, mask-wearing, as well as immunity strengthening and protection.

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To help prevent contagion from the respiratory illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) have each recommended actions such as handwashing, avoiding close contact with others, and daily cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces, however, there is little, if any mention, of advice about boosting or safeguarding immunity systems by natural dietary means.

In fact, it seems the WHO, as well as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), have been focusing primarily on developing therapeutics and vaccines to combat COVID-19.

NIAID noted that its “funded scientists are exploring ways to treat and prevent human coronavirus infections by working to develop new antibodies, drugs, and vaccines. Some block the virus from entering cells, some delay the immune system response, and some block viral replication.”

NIAID added that certain of its scientists have been recently testing the antiviral drug remdesivir for the illness.  

According to NIAID, remdesivir, developed by California-based biotech company Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD), is an investigational, broad-spectrum antiviral treatment. It was previously tested in humans with Ebola virus disease and “has shown promise” in animal models for treating Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which are caused by other coronaviruses. 

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NIAID director and U.S. Coronavirus Task Force member Anthony Fauci said that although remdesivir has been administered to some patients with COVID-19, “we do not have solid data to indicate it can improve clinical outcomes.” Meanwhile, he admitted that the need for “a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19” is a matter of urgency.

Strong Bonds

Pharmaceutical companies such as Gilead have historically been instrumental in the development of vaccines and disease-treating drugs.

The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), for example, has been in official relations with the WHO since its inception in 1948 and has United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) status – affiliations that assist in the federation’s mission, which the WHO states is “to improve global health by advancing pharmacy practice and science to enable better discovery, development, access to and safe use of appropriate, cost-effective, quality medicines worldwide.”

FIP itself is a global federation comprising three million pharmacists and scientists across 127 member organizations.

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To bolster its mission, the WHO has recently released a fourth draft of its “Immunization Agenda 2030: A Global Strategy to Leave No One Behind,” which it says “envisions a world where everyone, everywhere, at every age, fully benefits from vaccines to improve health and well-being.”

All-encompassing vaccinations would also likely help fuel pharmaceutical companies’ coffers, amid challenging costs of new drug development, tight regulations, higher health care prices, and increasing scrutiny about product efficacy.

Analysts at PwC noted that advances in “vaccinology are providing the tools with which to develop more effective vaccines for a much wider range of diseases,” including for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, while “work on vaccines to curb nicotine and cocaine addiction is likewise well underway.”

Companies such as GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK), Sanofi (Nasdaq: SNY) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) could achieve compound annual growth rates from the vaccine business of between 2.8% and 7.1% over a seven-year period to 2024, according to Statista.

Healthier Lifestyles

Against this backdrop, many consumers have generally taken their health responsibilities into their own hands, in large part to counter the rising costs of health care and health insurance.

Recent figures from Statista indicate that revenue from vitamin and nutritional supplement production in the U.S., for example, had reached around US$32bn in 2019 from the prior year’s tally of US$30.7bn.

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Statista noted that growth of the supplement industry is “no surprise when one considers the scale of its penetration into the lives of consumers,” adding that with “consumers’ interest in health and wellness growing, so too is the market for supplements that support this lifestyle.”

Furthermore, revenue in the vitamins and minerals segment is expected to amount to more than US$4.75bn in 2020, while achieving a 2.6% annual growth rate through 2023.

Colorado-based health food chain Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets (NYSE: NGVC), for instance, has seen its sales soar at a CAGR of nearly 7.7% over a five-year period to 2019. At US$230m, its first-quarter of 2020 revenues also surpassed the same year-ago period by 3.8%.

In line with environmental, social and governance standards (ESG), the company said it carries “only carefully vetted” Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified nutritional supplements, which comprise roughly 21% of its business, the largest segment behind groceries at 69%.

Meanwhile, many nervous households appear to have turned to more natural solutions to help fend off anxieties about the strength of their immune systems to fight the novel coronavirus should it strike.

Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the CDC and former commissioner of the New York City Health Department, recently noted on Fox News that “higher COVID-19 mortality rates among older people and those with chronic conditions suggest that a weakened immune system contributes to poor outcomes.”

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Frieden, who currently serves as the CEO of global non-profit Resolve to Save Lives, continued that while there are “many crackpot claims about miracle cures floating around,” Vitamin D may strengthen the immune system, “particularly of people whose Vitamin D levels are low.”

While other supplement suppliers such as vitasave.ca tout other vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, zinc, and echinacea, among others, that could help support the immune system, the academic-scientific community does not seem at all convinced.

Harvard Health Publishing recently said that “aside from vaccines, there’s really nothing you can take to improve your immune system, so it’s probably best to avoid pills and potions that make those types of claims.”

Harvard noted that getting “vaccinated against the flu and other diseases stimulates the immune system to protect against illness.” This is because vaccines “teach the immune system to recognize specific pathogens and prepare them to mount a defense if they are encountered.”

Investors looking at the responses from the academic research and medical community, as well as the pharmaceutical and specialty retail markets, may gauge how consumers are choosing to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic – notably whether sales of vitamins and minerals will continue to rise or be supplanted by a newly developed vaccine or drug.

In the meantime, to date, nearly 1.4m cases of the novel coronavirus have been identified in 184 countries and regions, with around 27.3l% of that total having hit the U.S., while more than 79k people have suffered fatalities globally.