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About Us

Ampika, meaning "strong medicine" in the Quechua language, is a medicinal plants business that was spun out from Cambridge University in May 2003. The company was set up with finance from the Cambridge Enterprise Seed Funds. Considerable care was taken to create an ethical business model that recognises the local contribution to the knowledge base. Ampika operates in two areas of healthcare:

• development of nutraceuticals (dietary supplements and functional foods) for retail to consumers
• discovery of plant-derived drugs for prescription use

Ampika is seeking partners for marketing and distribution of its consumer products, and is looking to form collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to discover and develop plant-derived drugs. Dr Françoise Barbira Freedman, Director of Research, amassed a unique database, AmpikaPhytobase™, of 500 plants used in traditional Amazonian medicine. The database is the work of Dr Freedman of the Department of Social Anthropology at Cambridge University. It is the tangible result of 25 years' of her work with Peruvian traditional healers, and of her unique relationship of trust with the local people - who actively support Ampika's utilisation of their exceptional knowledge of medicinal plants.

AmpikaPhytobase™ contains information on plants with many other activities of potential commercial relevance. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Ampika to discuss their requirements.

"Ampika was created on the basis of trust developed over years of fieldwork with Western Amazonian shamans. As a Cambridge anthropologist I feel privileged to act as an authorised bridge between the plant knowledge of the elders and beneficial applications derived from this knowledge in the wider world." - Dr Françoise Freedman

Ampika offers its business partners a unique range of active plant extracts for incorporation into nutraceuticals and marketing as new product lines. The medicinal properties of these plants, which are all found in Ampika's primary forest reserve in Peru, are supported by their long history of use by Peruvian traditional healers and the wealth of information imparted by these healers directly to Dr Freedman. Ampika can facilitate the supply of high quality plant extracts to meet commercial requirements through its extensive contacts in the academic, industrial and commercial sectors in Peru.

For further information on Ampika or any of the opportunities described above, please contact us and we would be happy to answer your enquiry.