The American Herbal Products Association’s (AHPA) is proud to announce the winners of its fifth annual AHPA Awards to recognize individuals and companies making substantive, positive contributions to the herbal products industry.
“AHPA honors and thanks these leaders for their significant contributions to the herbal products industry,” said Michael McGuffin, the association’s president. “Each honoree is committed to excellence and understands that continual industry growth depends on the individual actions and decisions made by members of our business community.”
Katie Huggins, Vice President of Quality Control, Traditional Medicinals
Katie Huggins is honored as the 2010 AHPA Herbal Hero in recognition of her outstanding contributions to AHPA committees and initiatives. Ms Huggins is currently Vice Chair of AHPA’s Board of Trustees and Chair of the Board of Directors of the AHPA Foundation for Education and Research on Botanicals. Additionally, Ms Huggins is actively involved in numerous committees, including Standards and Education. Her contributions to AHPA’s activities demonstrate the knowledge and thoughtfulness with which she approaches quality and other issues of importance to the industry. Among other initiatives, Ms Huggins has played a leading role in the development of educational events on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and the creation of AHPA guidance policies and trade requirements. Her work stands out for its quality as well as its quantity, and all AHPA members have benefited from her expertise and marked commitment to the herbal products industry.
Dr. Ikhlas Khan, Ph.D., Assistant Director, National Center for Natural Products Research and Professor of Pharmacognosy, University of Mississippi
AHPA honors Dr. Ikhlas Khan with the Herbal Insight award for furthering the knowledge and understanding of medicinal and aromatic plants. Dr. Khan’s efforts on behalf of herbal knowledge include his commitment to fostering the research of future generations of botanical scientists, enhancing knowledge of botanicals among regulators through his role as Director of the FDA Center for Excellence in Botanicals at the National Center for Natural Products Research, and contributing to the growing body of science on botanicals. Dr. Khan’s primary research interests include analytical fingerprinting for standardization of herbal products, and bio-analytical approaches to improvement of product quality and safety. He is the author or co-author over 300 original research articles, publications, or reviews. He also serves as the Director for Sino-US TCM Research Center and as the Director of the Center for Research of Indian Systems of Medicine (CRISM). Born in Amroha, India, Dr. Khan received his masters in organic chemistry in 1982 (from the Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, India). In 1987, he received his doctorate in pharmacy from the Institute for Pharmaceutical Biology in Munich.
Gaia Herbs, Brevard, North Carolina
The Herbal Industry Leader award is presented to a company with outstanding business practices. Since its founding in 1987, Gaia has provided leadership in moving the industry forward above and beyond normal business practices as a socially-responsible business and a certified-organic grower and manufacturer of liquid herbal extracts. Notable achievements include advancements in the understanding of Echinacea through research funded by federal Small Business Innovative Research grants; recent introduction of the EarthBottle™ (an all-natural, plant-based, biopolymer composite resin technology for packaging dietary supplements and body care products); charitable donations of organic produce through its Community Supported Agriculture project; consistent support of naturopathic medical education, including the annual Medicines from the Earth Symposium now in its 18th year; successful development of it’s 250 acre commercial, educational and research farm in western North Carolina, and key support for an 800-acre public-private botanical sanctuary and medicinal plant research farm in Costa Rica. Once completed, this preserve will protect medicinal plants native to Central America, generate skilled employment for local people, and provide a place for regional sustainability research. It is AHPA’s great pleasure to recognize the company’s demonstrated commitment to quality, research, innovation, community and sustainability with the 2010 AHPA Herbal Industry Leader award.
The 2010 AHPA Awards will be presented during the association’s annual member meeting in Anaheim, Calif. on March 11. To learn more about AHPA events and committee meetings held during Natural Products Expo West March 10-14 visit the AHPA Web site.
A complete schedule of events is available here: http://www.ahpa.org/Portals/0/pdfs/10_0126_ExpoWest2010_AHPAMeetingSchedule_Final.pdf
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is the national trade association and voice of the herbal products industry. AHPA is comprised of domestic and foreign companies doing business as growers, processors, manufacturers and marketers of herbs and herbal products, including foods, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and nonprescription drugs. Founded in 1982, AHPA’s mission is to promote the responsible commerce of herbal products. Website: www.ahpa.org.