TG Biotech’s Export of Fat-Reduction Ingredient ACTIPONIN® Gains Global Momentum

TG Biotech, a bio-venture company led by CEO Taerin Heo, is seeing accelerating global exports of its flagship fat-reducing functional ingredient, ACTIPONIN®, a powdered ethanol extract of Gynostemma pentaphyllum leaves.

Founded by former Kyungpook National University professor Taerin Heo, TG Biotech was initially established with joint investments from Dong-A Pharmaceutical and SK Group to develop a novel obesity treatment targeting a newly discovered obesity gene (IDPc).
The company began full-scale operations after ACTIPONIN®, its core fat-reducing compound, received individual ingredient approval from Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) as a health functional food in 2013.

ACTIPONIN® holds patents in Korea, the United States, Japan, and China, and is the world’s first ingestible compound proven to activate AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase).
While most fat-reducing ingredients were developed abroad, ACTIPONIN® is the first of its kind developed domestically and successfully exported to the world’s largest market—the United States.

Unlike typical fat-burning that requires exercise to activate AMPK, ACTIPONIN® activates AMPK through ingestion alone, offering an exercise-like fat-burning effect without the need for physical activity or appetite suppression.
It helps reduce visceral fat, blood cholesterol, and triglycerides, making it an all-natural, safe, and non-toxic health functional ingredient.

As its efficacy has been scientifically validated, exports are rapidly increasing.
Since its initial export to the U.S. in 2017, ACTIPONIN® was included in a Life Extension product that won the Best Seller Award in the weight management category at Whole Foods Market (Amazon-owned) in 2020.
In 2024, ACTIPONIN® received NDI (New Dietary Ingredient) approval from the U.S. FDA, further bolstering its global expansion. Export destinations now include the U.S., Poland, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

The Life Extension product featuring ACTIPONIN® is currently #1 in both fat burner and weight loss categories on the online supplement marketplace iHerb.
In August 2024, the newly launched “Lemme Burn” achieved #1 in Amazon US weight loss sales just 20 days after release.
In Korea, more than 50 diet products using ACTIPONIN® are currently available on the market.

CEO Taerin Heo noted,

“To support new projects, we’ve strengthened our R&D team since the end of last year. We’re actively developing additional functionalities for ACTIPONIN® as a health supplement and have already launched several finished products.”

He added,

“We are currently developing additional MFDS-approved individual functional ingredients and are conducting preclinical trials for a new herbal drug derived from an improved version of ACTIPONIN®.”

Meanwhile, TG Biotech recently won a U.S. patent invalidation lawsuit filed by a Korean corporation.
The U.S. court dismissed all claims from the plaintiff, affirming TG Biotech’s full patent rights in the overseas market.
The company expects this decision to contribute significantly to future export growth.

Original Korean Article: jhoon@etnews.com