• Growing interest in the essentiality of vitamin D from the perspective of self-medication led the US market to rapidly expand by 50 times^*1 in the past five years, placing vitamin D products as top selling items within the Nature Made brand
• Essentiality of vitamin D is poorly recognized in Japan; one in every four Japanese people and two in every three women are thought to be vitamin D deficient^*2
• Introduction of Super Vitamin D from the US would suggest a proactive supporting of people's well-being by easing the daily supplementing of vitamin D, as each tablet contains a dose of 25µg (1000 I.U.) to be taken only once a day

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Taro Iwamoto) is pleased to announce the launch of Super Vitamin D from the Nature Made brand on October 1, easing the supplementing of vitamin D as each tablet contains a dose of 25µg　(1000 I.U.) to be taken only once a day.

Apart from its well known function of aiding bone formation by accelerating the absorption of calcium, there is a growing interest in the essentiality of vitamin D amongst recent researches in the area of preventive medicine, suggesting a daily optimum intake of 25µg　(1000 I.U.)^*3 of vitamin D in order to promote healthy condition.

Proactive vitamin D supplementing from the perspective of self-medication is spreading in the US, where dietary supplementing is widely accepted, and the related markets have rapidly expanded by 50 times in the past five years generating a market value of ¥14.1 billion^*1. Product range containing vitamin D was first launched in the US in 2005, and is now the best-selling items within the Nature Made brand.

• *1：VASPI Main & Archive Databases (US$=¥80)
• *2：Vitamin D 25(OH)D blood concentration level investigation conducted in August 2012
• *3：Estimates of optimal Vitamin D status B.Dawson-Hughes, Robert P. Heaney, Michael F. Holick.-Osteoporosis, 2005