The American Botanical Council (ABC) recently presented the 2022 ABC Varro E. Tyler Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research Award to Max Zeller Söhne AG, a Swiss company that specializes in herbal medicines. The history of the company dates back to 1864.
 
“We are delighted and very grateful that the American Botanical Council has awarded Max Zeller Söhne AG the renowned ABC Tyler Award for 2022,” said Georg Boonen, PhD, CEO of Zeller. “This international award acknowledges our central company missions statement, the continuous evidence-based research of herbal medicines in order to confirm with reliable scientific evidence the efficacy of our established phytopharmaceuticals, which have been used for decades with good results.”
 
The ABC Tyler Award was created to honor Professor Varro E. Tyler, PhD, an early trustee of ABC and vice president of academic affairs and the dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Purdue University. He was the senior author of six editions of a leading pharmacognosy textbook that was formerly used in every college of pharmacy in the United States, and numerous other professional and popular books and academic articles. Tyler encouraged scientific and product integrity,, and envisioned a rational phytomedicinal health care sector that valued the proper evaluation of a phytomedicinal product’s quality, safety, and efficacy, according to ABC.
 
Zeller has been family-owned for five generations, ABC reports, and has specialized in non-prescription phytomedicinal products available in drugstores and pharmacies in Switzerland. Zeller Medical AG, a subsidiary of the company, produces prescription herbal medicines for healthcare professionals, including products for gynecological, urological, and dermatological conditions.
 
The company also produces five herbal medicines that are available outside of Switzerland, in 25 countries. These are marketed for sleep disorders, mild-to-moderate depression, premenstrual syndrome, menopausal symptoms, and allergic rhinitis.
 
Zeller has committed to investigating its products in human clinical trials and other studies, according to ABC, including its best-selling products such as Cimidona, a phytomedicine for menopausal symptoms which contains extracts of black cohosh rhizome, and Remotiv, a phytomedicine used for mild-to-moderate depression which contains extracts of St. John’s wort.
 
“Zeller is a truly research-based company, and I am quite certain that Prof. Tyler would heartily approve of their receiving this award,” Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of ABC, said.
 
“I had the privilege to visit Zeller on two occasions and was always impressed by their dedication to produce the highest quality phytomedicines. Zeller’s quality control practices are among the best in the industry, and with over 30 clinical studies, the efficacy and safety of their products is scientifically documented. This certainly makes Zeller a worthy recipient of the ABC Varro E. Tyler award,” Stefan Gafner, PhD, chief science officer of ABC, said.