Many companies use patented ingredients as a marketing tactic. However, a patented ingredient is not always inherently better than a more generic form.
In the case of beta-alanine in Pulse, for example, we use the patented CarnoSyn form because it’s both reliable and cheap. Not all patented forms are equal, but in this case, CarnoSyn cornered the market by patenting the simplest way to process and manufacture beta-alanine.
Other patented ingredients are not so cheap, and we generally include those in two situations.
The first is if the patented form does have benefits over a generic form. This is the case with Meriva in Fortify, for example. Meriva is a patented form of curcumin that enhances absorption, and allows us to leave out black pepper extract, which can affect the metabolism of other drugs.
The second case is if most studies showing benefits of a particular ingredient use the patented form. For example, we use the KSM-66 form of ashwagandha in Triumph because that’s the form used in studies[1] on athletic and anxious people. KSM-66 is standardized to 5% withanolides, the bioactive compound in ashwagandha that produces most of its benefits.
If we used a generic form of ashwagandha, we wouldn’t be able to guarantee that it contains at least 5% withanolides. In other words, using the patented form is a way to help ensure our product will offer the same benefits seen in studies.
1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573577/