Popularity of Medicinal Honey Growing in Europe

Match-Maker Austrade
By Alex Tilbury, The Courier Mail (Australia), 2/26/2007

Western Europe has been the springboard for the success of Brisbane-based Medihoney, with the Germans embracing its unique anti-bacterial wound care products.

Medihoney is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Capilano Honey, which has so far invested $5.5 million into the development of its wound care honey, which stems from several floral varieties of Australian shrubs.

Anthony Moloney, director of science and strategic development at Medihoney, says the company has just negotiated a world-first independent study at Bonn University to confirm the effects of its non-steroid treatment for childhood eczema.

Medihoney has pioneered this market with its unique products which clean the wound and cause less trauma on dressing changes.

''Our honeys are very effective against drug-resistant bacterias, which is very significant.''

Medihoney launched into Germany and Austria last November, into Finland at the start of 2006 and into the UK in 2005.

''The response has been enormous and in wound care you've got to do a lot of work in building up your markets,'' Mr Moloney said.

''We are starting from a very small base but there is no doubt there has been a paradigm shift in wound care that is occurring around the world in terms of the acceptance of anti-bacterial honeys and we've led that change.

''We consider ourselves the world leader in the research and development of anti-bacterial honeys.''