By Jennifer Moscatello

WinVivoBlending Nature

& Science

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Shirley Chen is an energetic entrepreneur with not just one,

but two advanced degrees—a PhD in biological chemistry and

a JD in law. As the co-founder and CEO of WinVivo, a

healthcare company that creates natural medicines made

with Asian botanicals, the 45-year-old Silicon Valley resident

has come a long way from her native home—the remote

mountain area near Bama County in southwest China.

This mountainous region, 150 miles from the nearest major city, boasts the

highest number of centenarians per capita of any region in the world. The

reason? Some researchers credit the crisp, pollution-free mountain air or the

down-to-earth lifestyle. Survival in this rural area requires hard work; it’s not

uncommon for 90-year-olds to labor in the fields. Others credit the longevity of

the Bama people to their diet, which is rich in rice wine, hemp seed, mush-

rooms, and locally grown vegetables and herbs. »

WinVivo’s Botano Guard

capsules and Botano

Throat lozenges

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WinVivo’s Sales and Marketing Director Richard Andrus with CEO Shirley Chen

WinVivoBlending Nature

& Science

This article was published in Eucalyptus Magazine, Issue 13.

Today Chen’s work draws heavily on her childhood experiences.

“My parents are botanists, but for the longest time I tried to stay

away from that profession,” says Chen. “I wanted to develop

effective chemical drugs against cancer…I was really determined to

be a hard-core biomedical scientist and academic.”

After years of working alongside esteemed Nobel Prize-winning

researchers and never finding the “magic bullet” against cancer,

Chen was frustrated. “I figured that in my lifetime, I’d never be able

to personally discover something that was really efficacious for

treating a devastating disease like cancer. So I jumped ship; I

became an intellectual property lawyer for the pharmaceutical and

biotech industry. I thought that maybe my brilliant inventor clients

could come up with the successful drugs and then I would be very

satisfied. I could help them commercialize them and make them

available to the public.”

But Chen soon discovered that most of her clients focused on the

development of diagnostic tools to ensure early detection of disease.

That didn’t address what Chen saw as the missing link in medicine:

prevention. “If I find out I’m 60 percent susceptible to colon cancer,

what do I do? Do I go and find a drug that will slow down or prevent

the onset of colon cancer? Or do I go and look at my whole life and

try to change my lifestyle, my dietary structure? The cancer’s not

here yet, but it could be a time bomb,” Chen says.

“So I remembered my calling from my parents: Go back to Mother

Nature. This is how people in Asia for thousands of years learned

how to maintain their health, by going back to their dietary

structure… by incorporating medicinal herbs into their daily life. So

naturally you can achieve good health and prevent diseases.”

Through a partnership with biochemist-turned-financier Dr.

Brooke Gai and other advisors in the United States and Asia, Chen

started WinVivo, a company which combines Eastern remedies with

Western science and technology to offer safe, sustainable products

that bolster the body’s natural healing abilities. “WinVivo” combines

the English word “win” with the Latin term “in vivo” which literally

means “the living”—a whole, living organism, as opposed to an “in

vitro”-controlled laboratory environment, which involves cells or

tissue isolated from the body.

“The gold standard of any health-related product is that it must

work in a living human body and be able to address health issues in

a safe, long-term, sustainable manner, not just in petri dishes or in

vitro lab experiments,” says Chen.

The company’s current products include Botano Guard capsules,

derived from anti-inflammatory reishi and shiitake mushrooms in

combination with antiviral and antibacterial herbs, which are

designed to bolster immunity, and Botano Throat, a natural lozenge

that relieves chronic coughs with a blend of botanicals. WinVivo

also has three new products set to launch in the coming year. These

include a botanical remedy to help allergy sufferers, functional

foods targeting obesity and diabetes, and a topical balm to promote

the healing of wounds and skin disorders. Developed over a 30-year

period by a traditional Chinese doctor, the balm contains a licensed

blend of 10 different herbs that have anti-bacterial and anti-inflam-

matory properties. It is designed not only to help wounds heal

faster, but also to stop pain and itching as well. Chen says the balm

is safe and effective for simple first-aid uses, such as cuts, insect

bites, and rashes, as well as more serious concerns like bedsores,

herpes, shingles, venous stasis, and chronic diabetic ulcers.

The botanical ingredients—vegetables, fruits, herbs, and teas—used

in WinVivo’s products are both locally sourced and flown in from

carefully selected suppliers in Asia. “Our combination of herbs … is

based on 3,000 years of ‘clinical trials.’ We base our formulas on how

people in Asia use a particular herb in combination with another

kind of herb to achieve the best therapeutic efficacy,” says Chen.

“Like a symphony, each botanical plays a critical role… some

targeting the root cause and some the symptoms. In Botano Guard,

the mushroom essence strengthens the general immunity of the

host, while botanicals such as Japanese honeysuckle act like

broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents against viruses and bacteria.”

Of the many chapters of her life, Chen feels extremely satisfied

with her current work at WinVivo. “What’s the purpose of research?

To be able to develop products to make people’s lives better and

healthier… Just publishing papers doesn’t really mean much to me,”

she says. “WinVivo develops health products based on what is

already working in humans and tested in billions of people in Asia

over millennia, not the usual Western approach of testing pharma-

ceuticals in petri dishes, then on animals, then on humans.”

Of course, natural remedies aren’t the only antidotes to stress-

filled lives. For those who travel frequently, feel overtaxed, or spend

time caring for others but neglecting themselves, Chen encourages

a return to balance and a proactive approach to health: Eating more

plant-based foods, selecting smaller portion sizes, and engaging in

regular, gentle exercise.

left: a 110-year-old woman from Bama county in china. center: WinVivo’s latest product: a topical balm to promote the healing of wounds and skin disorders. right: compounds from reishi and shiitake mushrooms, used in WinVivo’s products, serve to strengthen the immune system.

The botanical ingredients—vegetables, fruits, herbs, and teas—used in WinVivo’s products are both

locally sourced and flown in from carefully selected suppliers in Asia.

WinVivo’s ceo shirley chen was raised in a remote village in china, where she learned about the healing powers of botanicals.

engaging in regular, gentle exercise, like this group performing tai chi, is a critical part of maintaining overall health.

eating more plant-based foods, such as this soup of tofu and herbs, is key to a healthy lifestyle.

The botanical ingredients used in WinVivo’s products include vegetables, fruits, herbs, and teas.

WinVivoBlending Nature

& Science