[3] In 2017, LifeVantage was issued a warning letter by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding illegal advertising claims on the company's websites suggesting that Protandim can help to cure various ailments, including cancer and diabetes.
The new version of Protandim, a combination of five common herbal ingredients including turmeric and green tea was invented following "months of extensive research and development" by Lifeline employees Paul Myhill and William Driscoll (a former oil company executive), who together hold the patent on the product,[1] and it was launched in February 2005.
[12][13][14][15] Like CMX-1152, the herbal mixture known as Protandim that supplanted it was marketed by Lifeline as an "anti-aging" supplement that increases the body's antioxidant defenses by upregulating superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase.
[21] McCord, who is listed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a LifeVantage insider shareholder,[22] served as a spokesperson for Protandim and was responsible for distributor training and product research.
"[34] Protandim consists mainly of a blend of five herbal ingredients (amounts per caplet listed in parentheses):[35] Marketing claims that Protadim can prevent or treat cancer are unproven and have been deemed fraudulent by the FDA.
Hall wrote for Science-Based Medicine that "we simply don't know enough at this point to recommend Protandim for treatment or prevention of any disease, for anti-aging, for making people feel healthier or more energetic, or for anything else".
[43] On April 17, 2017, LifeVantage was issued a warning letter by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding illegal advertising claims on the company's websites suggesting that Protandim can play a role in helping to cure various ailments, including cancer and diabetes.
Specifically, the case alleged that the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) LifeVantage lacked effective internal financial controls; (ii) as a result, the Company had improperly accounted for sales in certain international markets, along with associated revenue and income tax accruals; and (iii) as a result of the foregoing, LifeVantage's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
[51] In July 2015, Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen was reported by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to have bought a 5.1 percent ownership stake in LifeVantage.