Amol Pathak is director business and strategy with Mumbai, India-based ENovate Biolife, a position he has held since 2012. Pathak is a pharmacist and holds an MBA degree from a distinguished U.S. institution. He has many years of international business experience in healthcare products and services. Since 2000, Pathak has represented the science and benefits of Indian natural products in various capacities to diverse stakeholders including practitioners, regulators, professional associations, consumers, and the media across multiple countries. He has been instrumental in the launch and growth of several ENovate Biolife’s clinically proven, award-winning branded ingredients, most recently Muvz for knee and low back support.

Health E-Insights (HEI): How was the formula (active ingredient) for Muvz discovered?

Pathak: The research team at ENovate reviewed multiple plants and extracts for rapid joint relief for two years. Vitex negundo (Chaste tree) leaves were identified as a promising option for further development. Despite being an Old Dietary Ingredient (ODI) as per DSHEA, Vitex negundo had not yet been applied in modern supplements most probably because of lack of human studies and quality assured supply.

The ENovate team looked for the best habitats of Vitex negundo across India to collect samples. After analyzing samples from five major growing regions, we identified the most potent variety from North-west India which is clean and sustainable. It was decided to combine Vitex negundo leaves extract with a specific ginger fraction as a bioavailability enhancer with its own joint health benefits using a patent- pending clean process to yield a new first-in-class proprietary ingredient to be evaluated in human studies. The human screening study which qualified Muvz for further larger studies was published in The International Journal of Clinical Trials. Participants receiving Muvz in this study achieved meaningful, as well as rapid knee pain relief.

HEI: Please provide an overview of Muvz regarding knee and back pain health benefits.

Pathak: In addition to the published screening study, Muvz has three more human studies evaluating various efficacy end points for knee and low back support. Clinical Trial II paper was published in the Journal of Pain Research titled “Effect of E-PR-01 (Muvz™) on activity-induced acute knee joint discomfort in healthy individuals.” This has shown an average time to achieve Meaningful Pain Relief (MPR) of 3.38 hours after single 200 mg dose post exercise which was statistically significant compared to the placebo group in which no participant achieved MPR.

Clinical Trial III paper was published in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation (“Effect of E-PR-01 (Muvz™) on non-specific low back pain in the adult population”). It showed that the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMQ) (developed by Martin Roland, Director of the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre, University of Manchester) values significantly reduced from baseline on day 7 and day 30 compared to the placebo. The improvement in the Muvz group was ~5x (19.02% vs. 3.68%) on day 7 and 2x+ on day 30 (47.07% vs. 21.72%) after a dose of 200 mg twice daily.

Human Clinical Trial IV under publication titled “A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Trial of Botanical Dietary Supplement (Muvz™) for Knee and Low-Back Discomfort in Physically Active Adults,” evaluated the effects of Muvz on musculoskeletal health using the MSK-HQ questionnaire developed at Oxford University amongst three groups, low dose 200 mg once daily, high dose 200 mg twice daily, and placebo. This has shown improved range of motion in knee and low back with 22.5% and 14.5% improvement at day 30 and 58.1% and 42.6% at day 90 in musculoskeletal health in high and low dose, respectively, as well as 4.3% and 3.7% improvement in joint flexion in high and low dose, respectively.

Based on all the studies conducted to date, the following clinically tested health claims of Muvz may be used: 1) Relieves lower back discomfort; 2) Relieves occasional lower back stiffness; 3) Rapid, same day reduction of exercise induced joint pain; 4) Increases joint and lower back flexibility; 5) Improves sleep and work productivity; 6) Enhances overall quality of life.

HEI: Is Muvz the first supplement ingredient to target knee and low back health?

Pathak: Yes. Muvz is a rare first-in-class clean and natural ingredient clinically tested to provide same day knee pain relief and lower back support at 7 days which further improves and sustains after taking it for 30 days. The lower back study results also showed significant improvement in forward bending flexibility of the participants.

HEI: Does Muvz provide other health benefits?

Pathak: Chronic low back pain can affect sleep quality and work productivity. In the Clinical Trial III previously summarized, there was a statistically significant improvement in sleep quality and a positive trend for work productivity outcomes as well.

HEI: Do plant extracts as is found in Muvz provide a health benefit edge?

Pathak: Vitex negundo in Indian Ayurveda texts is awarded the title of sarva roga nivarini, meaning the remedy of all diseases. It possesses anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and muscle relaxant properties. Such a multi-pathway efficacy is especially relevant to support non-specific lower back pain and stiffness. Zingiber officinale is a popular kitchen spice consumed worldwide for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is researched for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic and bioavailability enhancing properties. The proprietary combination of Vitex negundo and Zingiber officinale phytoactives in Muvz has now proven beneficial for knee and lower back support in multiple human studies and more work is also planned to better understand the pathways involved.  

HEI: In 2020, over 600 million people globally experienced back pain and nearly the same amount had osteoarthritis. Was that the thought when developing the Muvz formulation?

Pathak: Yes. Musculoskeletal, both joint and related, is a prime area for botanically powered innovation due to several reasons. Multiple pathways known and unknown are involved in joint and low back health. Such multi-factor pathophysiology is well suited for botanical solutions. There are well-known safety concerns in long-term usage of OTC pain killers for temporary pain relief in otherwise healthy people. The FDA increased warning over safety concerns of NSAIDS in 2015.

Furthermore, a majority of low back sufferers do not respond to traditional therapies. In addition, the joint health market is expanding from a traditional aging population into younger age groups looking for relief from aches and pains from work or sports-related joint strain. Plant extracts are better suited to manage multi-factor-based health issues compared to purified chemicals which usually target a single site of action.

Many joint health nutritional ingredients are from animal sources and known to have variations in efficacy, quality, and potential side effects. Also of importance is a majority of knee and low back pain sufferers are not satisfied with existing options.

Many people across the globe resolve to lead a healthy lifestyle and include exercise in their day-to-day routine. However, many are forced to give it up within a few days due to joint discomfort. So, people resort to fast-acting pain relief OTC medications. Several supplement alternatives are available in the market to improve joint health, like collagen, glucosamine, or chondroitin, which help by reducing inflammation or protecting the cartilage in the joints, but their onset of action is slow, and its research has produced mixed results.

Plant-based compounds have demonstrated activity on multiple inflammatory and pain pathways and thus provide promising leads to develop newer supportive care for mobility constraints. However, most have been studied for their effect on chronic pain conditions such as osteoarthritis. This overall situation created a need for an evidence-based fast-acting alternative for managing knee and lower back discomfort which motivated the team at ENovate Biolife to develop this proprietary blend of extracts of Vitex negundo leaves and Zingiber officinale rhizome to fill the gap for a safe and fast-acting pain-relieving alternative that individuals can use without fearing side effects.

HEI: What brands are currently formulating with Muvz?

Pathak: The first lower back supplement in the U.S. consumer market with Muvz in its formulation was launched in 2024 by Life Extension.