Pharmavite builds out women’s health portfolio with Bonafide acquisition

Pharmavite announced today it is bolstering its women’s health portfolio with the acquisition of Bonafide Health for $425 million. 

This marks the second major acquisition Pharmavite has made in women’s health this decade. In 2021, the company acquired privately held brand Uquora, which concentrates on women’s urinary health. At the time of the acquisition, Uquora’s run rate was reportedly $25 million. 

Pharmavite had already offered its own women-focused supplement formula branded as Equelle for menopause symptom relief. The company now adds Bonafide’s products, which include formulas aimed at sexual health, vaginal dryness relief and hair, skin and nails support. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Bonafide Health to Pharmavite. This acquisition positions us as the nation’s leading women’s health nutraceutical company, signaling a new era of innovation and science-based solutions in this underserved space,” said Jeff Boutelle, CEO of Pharmavite. “Bonafide’s unwavering commitment to research, development and robust scientific evidence mirrors Pharmavite’s rigorous standards, while its deep relationship with healthcare professionals aligns with our goal of ensuring nutrition education is at the forefront of the industry.” 

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Michael Satow, CEO of Bonafide Health who helped found the brand in 2017, said Pharmavite was the right partner because of its appreciation of the model the company had built, which rests upon outreach to health care providers. 

“Pharmavite deeply understands the importance of the model we’ve built, from the rigorous scientific data that underpins our products, to the power of the work we do with the doctors and other health care providers who are having conversations with women across the country looking for better solutions,” he said.  

“We’ve been looking for the right partner to grow the business and reach more women that need support. Pharmavite is that partner,” he added. 

Bonafide claims its products are supported by recommendations from more than 14,000 health care professionals. Those are voluntary endorsements, the company maintains. 

Pharmavite is a subsidiary of Japanese firm Otsuka Pharmaceutical. According to the company’s 2022 financial statement, the nutraceuticals sector was the company’s single largest line of business, running slightly ahead of revenue from some of the company’s individual drug products and bringing in more cash than the company’s functional food sector. In 2022, the company recorded more than ¥1.7 trillion (Japanese yen) in revenue. 

Expanded manufacturing capability 

In addition to its expanding women’s health portfolio, Pharmavite is probably best known as the manufacturer of Nature Made vitamins and the MegaFood brand of whole food vitamins and supplements.   

In 2023, Pharmavite broke ground on its fourth production facility. The $200 million, 225,000-square-foot facility in New Albany, Ohio, will concentrate on gummy production.