Prima Communications Inc. has announced the startup of TheNaturalPharmacist.com, a Web-oriented company for distributing natural medical information. According to the medical director for the site, Dr. Steven Bratman, what distinguishes TNP.com is that all the information on the site will be derived from and grounded in actual double-blind scientific studies, mostly carried out by universities.

"Natural health information tends to be anecdotal -- very few books in natural health are scientifically grounded, and what scientific information there is, is often reported incorrectly. We intend to show only what's scientifically shown to be true through actual research," Bratman explained.

All books developed from the Web site's information will be published by Prima Publishing. There are currently 16 titles in the works designed for sale in pharmacies, with six of these intended for bookstore distribution as well. The flagship of the line is The Natural Pharmacist Natural Health Bible, which was published in July. "The book was done first, and it took three months to do the coding and add the functions for the Web site," Bratman noted. The Web site can be found at both www.TNP.com and www.TheNaturalPharmacist.com.

Matthew Carleson, formerly the COO of Prima Publishing, will become president of TNP.com, as well as moving up to president and COO of Prima Communications Inc. Carleson will report to Prima Communications founder, chairman and CEO Ben Dominitz. At the same time, Dominitz reported the promotion of Debra Kempker to president of Prima Games and executive v-p of Prima Communications; she reports to Carleson. Under Kempker's leadership, Prima Games has sold well over 30 million strategy guides.