View source for Protandim

{{pp-pc1}}
{{short description|American multi-level marketing company}}

'''Protandim''' is a herbal [[dietary supplement]] marketed with unsupported claims that it can treat a number of medical conditions. The product is a [[patent medicine|patented]]<ref name=Patent1 /> mix of five herbal ingredients and sold by LifeVantage Corporation (formerly LifeLine Therapeutics, Lifeline Nutraceuticals, and Yaak River Resources, Inc), a [[Utah]]-based [[multi-level marketing]] company.<ref name="LifeVantage">LifeVantage Corporation{{cite web | url=http://www.lifevantage.com/faqs/ | title=FAQs – LifeVantage | access-date=4 July 2014 }}</ref> The manufacturers of Protandim make no claims that it can prevent or cure any medical conditions.<ref name="sbm2017">{{cite web |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/protandim-update-new-studies-and-an-fda-warning-letter/ |publisher=Science-Based Medicine |author=Hall H |author-link=Harriet A. Hall |title=Protandim Update: New Studies and an FDA Warning Letter |date=9 May 2017}}</ref> In 2017, LifeVantage was issued a [[FDA warning letter|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.<ref name="SLT_042617" /><ref name="SBN">{{cite news|last1=Montgomery|first1=Matt|title=FDA warns RSL kit sponsor LifeVantage over cancer treatment claims|url=http://www.rslsoapbox.com/2017/4/26/15436756/rsl-kit-sponsor-lifevantage-cancer-treatment-claims-fda-warning|access-date=April 27, 2017|publisher=[[SB Nation]]|date=April 26, 2017}}</ref><ref name="fda0417">{{Cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2017/ucm554234.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426064311/https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2017/ucm554234.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 26, 2017|title=2017 – Lifevantage Corp 4/17/17|website=www.fda.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-04-25}}</ref>

== History ==

In 2003, Lifeline Therapeutics, a privately held Denver-based [[nutraceutical]] licensing and marketing company, entered into an agreement with Massachusetts biotechnology company CereMedix for the rights to market CMX-1152, an experimental [[peptide]]-based [[chemical compound|compound]], under the brand name "Protandim" (also sometimes referred to at that time as "Rholen," "Rejuven8r" and "ependymin").<ref name="NutraceuticalsWorld">{{cite news|title=Lifeline Nutraceuticals, CereMedix sign agreement|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-112356866.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413142849/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-112356866.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 13, 2016|access-date=2012-08-19|newspaper=Nutraceuticals World|date=December 1, 2003}}</ref><ref name=BetterhumansPR>{{cite news|title=The Uncertain Antiaging Pill (press release)|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb183718.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050125045232/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb183718.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 25, 2005|access-date=2012-08-19|newspaper=Betterhumans|date=December 1, 2004}}</ref><ref name="McCook">{{cite journal |author=Alison McCook|title=Your Money for Your Life |journal=The Scientist|volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=33 |date=February 2006 |url=http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/23192/#ixzz1DA5Ng18E}}</ref><ref name=Betterhumans>{{cite news|last=Bailey |first=Patrick |title=The Uncertain Antiaging Pill |url=http://www.betterhumans.com/Features/Reports/report.aspx?articleID=2004-11-29-1 |access-date=2004-11-29 |newspaper=Betterhumans |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204092646/http://www.betterhumans.com/Features/Reports/report.aspx?articleID=2004-11-29-1 |archive-date=December 4, 2004 }}</ref><ref name=Scotsman>{{cite news|title=Scientist returns to build long-life pill plant|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/scientist-returns-to-build-long-life-pill-plant-1-894387|access-date=2012-08-20|newspaper=[[The Scotsman]]|date=November 17, 2003}}</ref><ref name=DenverPost>{{cite news|last=Austin|first=Marsha|title=Denver Businessmen Gamble on Selling Fountain of Youth in Pill Form|url=http://business.highbeam.com/3563/article-1G1-111038316/denver-businessmen-gamble-selling-fountain-youth-pill|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610042619/http://business.highbeam.com/3563/article-1G1-111038316/denver-businessmen-gamble-selling-fountain-youth-pill|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2013|access-date=2012-08-20|newspaper=[[Denver Post]]|date=December 8, 2003}}</ref> CereMedix was a ten percent owner of Lifeline and members of the CereMedix management board served on Lifeline's board of directors. CMX-1152 was claimed to upregulate the production of the endogenous antioxidant enzymes [[superoxide dismutase]], [[catalase]], and [[glutathione peroxidase]], and to offset the aging process.<ref name=Scotsman />

CMX-1152 was due to be marketed as an [[over the counter]] [[anti-aging]] pill in June 2004 after completing human clinical trials. However, plans to market the CMX-1152 version of Protandim fell through and in April 2004 Lifeline Therapeutics announced that it would instead be marketing a different (non-peptide) [[dietary supplement]] under the name "Protandim CF" (to distinguish it from the peptide version initially developed by Cermedix). 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,<ref name="Patent1">{{Cite patent | inventor1-last=Myhill | inventor1-first=Paul R. | inventor2-last=Driscoll | inventor2-first=William J. | issue-date=10 July 2007 | patent-number=7241461 | title=Composition for alleviating inflammation and oxidative stress in a mammal. | postscript=<!--None--> | country-code=US }}</ref> and it was launched in February 2005. Myhill and Driscoll resigned from the company later that year.<ref name="DenverPost" /><ref name="Footnoted">{{cite news|title=Some days it's just hard to believe|url=http://www.footnoted.com/uncategorized/some-days-its-just-hard-to-believe/|access-date=2012-08-19|newspaper=Footnoted|date=November 17, 2005}}</ref><ref name="DBJ">{{cite news|title=Lifeline Therapeutics CEO resigns|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2005/07/04/daily12.html|access-date=2012-08-20|newspaper=[[Denver Business Journal]]|date=July 5, 2005}}</ref><ref name="Myhill8K">{{cite news|title=Paul R. Myhill. RE: Resignation from the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Lifeline Therapeutics, Inc (Form 8-K)|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/849146/000102189005000208/lifeline1111058kex991.htm|access-date=2012-08-20|newspaper=[[United States Securities and Exchange Commission]]|date=November 11, 2005}}</ref>

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. According to the company, the product was initially sold through retail channels such as [[GNC (store)|GNC]];<ref name="GNC">{{cite news|title=Protandim to be Available at General Nutrition Center (GNC) Stores|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/849146/000102189005000106/lifeline720058kex99.htm|access-date=2012-08-19|newspaper=Lifeline Therapeutics press release|date=July 20, 2005}}</ref> however, in 2009, after several consecutive years of multimillion-dollar losses, the company,  which by then was doing business under the name LifeVantage, stopped marketing it through retailers and switched to multi-level marketing, selling it instead through a network of commissioned independent distributors. According to LifeVantage, the move from retail to multi-level marketing was prompted by the January 2008 hiring of David&nbsp;W. Brown, (formerly CEO and president of [[Metabolife]]) as the company's CEO and president.<ref name="ReutersBrown">{{cite news|title=LifeVantage Corporation Appoints Industry Veteran David Brown as President & CEO (LFVN press release)|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/14/idUS120817+14-Jan-2008+PRN20080114|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609032104/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/14/idUS120817+14-Jan-2008+PRN20080114|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 9, 2013|access-date=2012-08-24|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|date=January 14, 2008}}</ref><ref name="LFVNstory">{{cite web|title=The LifeVantage Story|url=http://www.lifevantage.com/company/our-story/|publisher=LifeVantage, Inc|access-date=2012-08-24|quote=David Brown, President of LifeVantage Network, recognized Protandim's potential.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112065451/http://www.lifevantage.com/company/our-story/|archive-date=2011-11-12}}</ref>

Beginning in 2005, Protandim  was produced under a manufacturing agreement with [[Chemins|The Chemins Company]] of Colorado Springs, Colorado.<ref name="LIFEVANTAGE-CORP-Jan-2006-10KSB/A">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/135/102189006000015/filing-main.htm |title=LIFEVANTAGE CORP, Form 10KSB/A, Filing Date Jan 26, 2006 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =May 15, 2018}}</ref> In July 2008, LifeVantage entered into a new manufacturing agreement with Cornerstone Research & Development to produce Protandim, and with Wasatch Product Development to produce a Protandim-based skin cream (''TrueScience'').<ref name="LIFEVANTAGE-CORP-Sep-2011-10-K">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/988/0001193125-11-258536.pdf |title=LIFEVANTAGE CORP, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Sep 28, 2011 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =May 15, 2018}}</ref>

In 2006, biochemist [[Joe&nbsp;M. McCord]] joined the LifeVantage board of directors as the company's director of science.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/board-management/5376294-1.html |title=Dr. Joe M. Mccord Joins Lifeline Therapeutics, Inc. Board of Directors. &#124; Business News and Press Releases from AllBusiness.com |access-date=2014-09-22 |archive-date=2011-08-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824163520/http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/board-management/5376294-1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> McCord, who is listed by the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] as a LifeVantage [[Insider trading|insider shareholder]],<ref name="secwatch.com">{{cite web |url=http://secwatch.com/mccord-joe-m |title=MCCORD JOE M ALL SEC FILINGS - SEC Watch |access-date=2011-02-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304012432/http://secwatch.com/mccord-joe-m |archive-date=2011-03-04 }}</ref> served as a spokesperson for Protandim and was responsible for distributor training and product research.<ref name="secwatch.com" /> Under the terms of his 2011 employment agreement, McCord received $529,994 in direct compensation as well as a 50-cent commission on every bottle of Protandim sold.<ref name="10K2011">{{cite web|title=LifeVantage Corp 10-K 2011|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/849146/000119312511258536/d225491d10k.htm|publisher=sec.edgar-online.com|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref name="McCordcontract">{{cite web|title=Employment agreement with Dr. Joe McCord|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/849146/000119312511258536/d225491dex1031.htm|publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]]|access-date=2014-09-21|date=April 1, 2011}}</ref> McCord served as LifeVantage's Chief Scientific Officer from June 2011 until September 2012, and then became a member of its science advisory board. LifeVantage announced McCord's retirement in June 2013.<ref name="retire1">{{Cite web |url=http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2013/06/25/556132/10037495/en/Dr-Joe-McCord-LifeVantage-Corporation-s-First-Chief-Science-Officer-Retires-From-Company.html |title=Dr. Joe McCord, LifeVantage Corporation's First Chief Science Officer, Retires from Company Nasdaq:LFVN |access-date=2014-09-22 |archive-date=2015-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221091151/http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2013/06/25/556132/10037495/en/Dr-Joe-McCord-LifeVantage-Corporation-s-First-Chief-Science-Officer-Retires-From-Company.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="8Kretire2">{{cite news|title=Form 8-K for LifeVantage Corp|url=http://biz.yahoo.com/e/130625/lfvn8-k.html|access-date=10 November 2013|newspaper=Yahoo.com|date=June 25, 2013}}</ref> Under the terms of the separation agreement, McCord was to receive a payment of $1.7{{nbsp}}million from the company.<ref name="8Kretire2" />

In January 2014, McCord was replaced by Shawn Talbott (developer of [[CortiSlim]]),<ref name="TalbottFTC">{{cite web|title=Three Cortislim Defendants to Give up $4.5 Million in Cash and Other Assets|url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2005/09/three-cortislim-defendants-give-45-million-cash-and-other-assets|publisher=[[Federal Trade Commission]]|access-date=July 14, 2016|date=September 21, 2005}}</ref> who served as the company's chief science officer<ref name="Talbott">{{cite web|title=LifeVantage Corporation Appoints Shawn Talbott Ph.D. as New Global Chief Science Officer|url=https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/01/07/600765/10063209/en/LifeVantage-Corporation-Appoints-Shawn-Talbott-Ph-D-as-New-Global-Chief-Science-Officer.html|publisher=LifeVantage, Inc.|access-date=July 14, 2016|date=January 7, 2014}}</ref> until being relieved of his duties in June 2015<ref name="TalbottBlog">{{cite web|author1=Shawn M. Talbott|title=My New Gig?|url=https://bestfutureyou.com/2015/07/13/my-new-gig/|website=Shawn M. Talbott Personal Blog|access-date=July 14, 2016|date=July 13, 2015}}</ref> and replaced in August 2015 by Natalie Chevreau, who was hired as the company's senior vice president of research and development and is credited with the invention of the company's TruScience skin care product.<ref name="ChevreauPatent">{{cite web|title=Patent WO 2015164504 A1: Topical compositions and methods for reducing oxidative stress|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2015164504A1/en|access-date=July 14, 2016|date=October 29, 2015}}</ref>

=== Product invention ===

As recently as July 21, 2011, LifeVantage credited McCord as the creator of Protandim on its website.<ref name="InventControversy2">{{cite web |url= http://www.lifevantage.com/products-breakthrough.aspx |title= Scientific Breakthrough. [Filed 21 July 2011] |url-status= bot: unknown |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110721233521/http://www.lifevantage.com/products-breakthrough.aspx |archive-date= 21 July 2011 }}</ref> At a 2011 conference for LifeVantage distributors, McCord stated, "I was presented with a list of 41 potential ingredients for a product they wanted to call Protandim, and I went through the list and penciled out, rapidly, about 36 of those ingredients," leaving the 5 ingredients in the current formulation of Protandim.<ref name="InventControversy3">{{cite web |url= http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/C5vli73g_CA%26start%3D2303 |title= The History of Free Radical Biology, Dr. Joe McCord [Filed 17 August 2011] |access-date= 2012-08-13 |archive-date= 2013-09-27 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130927231208/https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/C5vli73g_CA%26start=2303 |url-status= dead }}</ref> In March 2009, former LifeLine Therapeutics executive, Paul Myhill stated, "We initially decided to hide that fact [that Myhill derived the core composition for Protandim] for marketing purposes and instead rely on the impeccable background of Dr. McCord."<ref name="InventControversy1">{{cite web|url= http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lifevantage/blog/2009/03/09/inside-protandim-the-paul-myhill-interview |title= Inside Protandim: The Paul Myhill Interview [Filed 09 March 2009]|access-date=2012-08-13}}</ref> In April, 2005, Myhill produced a signed letter from McCord in which McCord stated, "I do not honestly feel that I have made contributions to the intellectual property, up to this point, that would qualify me as an inventor...I must congratulate you and Paul for having framed the concept of Protandim so close to its final embodiment, prior to the beginnings of our association."<ref name="InventControversy4">{{cite web|url= http://static.protandimscams.com/images/mccord-didnt-invent-protandim.jpg |title= McCord Rejects Credit for Inventing Protandim [Filed 29 March 2005]|access-date=2012-08-13|publisher=Joe McCord}}</ref>

== Composition ==

Protandim consists mainly of a blend of five herbal ingredients (amounts per caplet listed in parentheses):<ref name=study2>{{cite journal |last1=Velmurugan |first1=Kalpana |last2=Alam |first2=Jawed |last3=McCord |first3=Joe M. |last4=Pugazhenthi |first4=Subbiah |title=Synergistic induction of heme oxygenase-1 by the components of the antioxidant supplement Protandim |journal=Free Radical Biology and Medicine |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=430–40 |year=2009 |pmid=19056485 |doi=10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2008.10.050}}</ref>
* [[Silybum marianum|Milk thistle]] (''Silybum marianum'') extract (70–80% Silymarin) (225 mg)
* [[Bacopa monnieri|Bacopa]] (''Bacopa monnieri'') extract  (45% bacosides) (150 mg)
* [[Withania somnifera|Ashwagandha]] (''Withania somnifera'') powder (150 mg)
* [[Green tea]] (''Camellia sinensis'') extract (98% polyphenols, 45% EGCG) (75 mg)
* [[Turmeric]] (''Curcuma longa'') extract (95% curcumin) (75 mg)

== Effectiveness ==

Marketing claims that Protadim can prevent or treat [[cancer]] are unproven and have been deemed [[fraudulent]] by the FDA.<ref name="fda2017">{{cite web |publisher=FDA |title=Illegal Cancer Treatments: FDA Warning – Fraudulent Claims of Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention or Cure |date=25 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424192807/https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm554777.htm |archive-date=24 April 2018 |url=https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm554777.htm}}</ref> Research into use as a treatment for [[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]] is of poor quality, casting doubt on its usefulness for drawing any conclusions about efficacy.<ref>{{cite journal| author=ALSUntangled Group| title=ALSUntangled No. 31: Protandim. | journal=Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener | year= 2015 | volume= 17 | issue= 1–2 | pages= 154–6 | pmid=26414415 | doi=10.3109/21678421.2015.1088707 | s2cid=207664215 |type=Review| doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 2011, [[Harriet&nbsp;A. Hall]] wrote for ''[[Science-Based Medicine (website)|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".<ref>{{cite web|last=Hall|first=Harriet|title=Pursued by Protandim Proselytizers|date=11 October 2011|url=http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/pursued-by-protandim-proselytizers/|publisher=[[Science-Based Medicine (website)|Science-Based Medicine]]|access-date=12 November 2011}}</ref>

== Side effects ==

According to the manufacturer, Protandim can cause allergic responses, gastrointestinal disturbances (stomach ache, diarrhea, vomiting), headache, and a rash on the hands and feet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.protandim.com/faqs |title=FAQ |publisher=protandim.com}}{{third-party-inline|date=September 2012}}</ref><ref name="SBM_120517">{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Harriet |title=I Was Wrong about Protandim |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/i-was-wrong-about-protandim/ |website=[[Science Based Medicine]] |access-date=June 26, 2018 |date=December 5, 2017}}</ref>

== Legal and regulatory issues ==

=== Protandim voluntary recall ===

In December 2012, LifeVantage issued a voluntary recall of select lots (ten lots in total comprising 247,896 bottles) of Protandim due to potential health risks arising from the possible inclusion of small metal fragments in the final product.<ref>{{cite press release|title=LifeVantage Corporation Announces Voluntary Recall and Replacement of Select Lots of Protandim® Dietary Supplement Due to Potential Health Risk|url=https://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm331258.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121210033151/http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm331258.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 10, 2012|access-date=7 December 2012|date=5 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Enforcement Report – Week of January 16, 2013|url=http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/enforcement/enforce_rpt-Product-Tabs.cfm?action=select&recall_number=F-0876-2013&w=01162013&lang=eng|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007165724/http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/enforcement/enforce_rpt-Product-Tabs.cfm?action=select&recall_number=F-0876-2013&w=01162013&lang=eng|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2013|publisher=[[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]]|access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref>  In February 2013, the company announced that it was extending the recall to include additional lots of the product, estimating the total cost of the recall at $5.9&nbsp;million.<ref name="LIFEVANTAGE-CORP-Feb-2013-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2677/119312513053627/filing-main.htm |title=LIFEVANTAGE CORP, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Feb 13, 2013 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =May 15, 2018}}</ref>

=== FDA Warning for illegal marketing ===

On April 17, 2017, LifeVantage was issued a [[FDA warning letter|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. The claims were deemed to be in violation of Section 201(g)(1)(B) of the [[Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act]] [21 U.S.C. §&nbsp;321(g)(1)(B)].<ref name="SLT_042617">{{cite news|last1=Kamrani|first1=Christopher|title=Real Salt Lake: RSL jersey sponsor LifeVantage in hot water with FDA over supplement's treatment claims|url=http://www.sltrib.com/home/5221187-155/real-salt-lake-rsl-jersey-sponsor|access-date=April 26, 2017|publisher=[[Salt Lake Tribune]]|date=April 26, 2017}}</ref><ref name="SBN" /><ref name=fda0417 />

=== Other ===

In 2009, LifeVantage was sued by Utah-based Zrii LLC, a marketer of nutritional fruit drinks endorsed by [[Deepak Chopra]], based on allegations that LifeVantage had conspired with former Zrii executives to "ruin the company" and take it over “on the cheap” following a "mass exodus". The case was closed in December 2009 following LifeVantage's settlement payment of $400,000 to Zrii.<ref name="Zrii">{{cite web|last=Harvey|first=Tom|title=Supplement company Zrii settles suits against rebellious ex-managers: LifeVantage pays $400,000 in dispute stemming from failed takeover attempt|url=http://www.daily-times.com/ci_14059464|publisher=Salt Lake Tribune|access-date=6 November 2011|date=2009-12-23}}</ref>

On October 14, 2011, Burke Hedges, a former LifeVantage distributor (hired for his background as a speaker and trainer) filed a lawsuit with the Utah District Court against LifeVantage and its executives, seeking $3{{nbsp}}million in punitive damages over allegations of wrongful termination and tortious interference.<ref name="Hedges">{{citation| title = Burke Hedges V. Lifevantage Corporation | publisher = United States District Court for the District of Utah: Civil No. 110918424| date = October 14, 2011 }}</ref>

In September 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against LifeVantage in Utah alleging that the company and its executive Darren Jensen and Mark Jaggi made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects.  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.<ref name="Rosen091616">{{cite web|author1=Rosen Law Firm|title=Rosen Law Firm Announces Filing of Securities Class Action Lawsuit Against LifeVantage Corporation – LFVN|url=https://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-952.html|access-date=April 27, 2018|date=September 16, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Zhang1">{{cite web|title=Zhang v LifeVantage et al: Case 2:16-cv-00965-BCW|url=http://securities.stanford.edu/filings-documents/1059/LC00_02/2016915_f01c_16CV00965.pdf|access-date=April 27, 2018|date=September 15, 2018}}</ref> The case was dismissed in June 2017.<ref name="LFVN102317">{{cite web|title=LifeVantage Announces Dismissal of Class Action Lawsuit|url=https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/10/23/1151587/0/en/LifeVantage-Announces-Dismissal-of-Class-Action-Lawsuit.html|publisher=Lifevantage|access-date=April 27, 2018|date=October 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Zhang2">{{cite web|title=Zhang v Lifevantage et al: Memorandum decision and order granting defendants' motion to dismiss.|url=https://ecf.utd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?216cv0965-51|access-date=April 27, 2018|date=June 15, 2017}}</ref>

In January 2018, a class action lawsuit was filed against LifeVantage in Connecticut alleging that the company and its chief executive officer Darren Jensen, chief sales officer Justin Rose, and chief marketing officer Ryan Goodwin were operating an illegal [[pyramid scheme]] in violation of the [[RICO Act]], federal securities laws, and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.<ref name="BW042718">{{cite web|title=Sommers Schwartz, P.C. Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action Claims Against LifeVantage Corp. and Certain of its Executives|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180219005625/en/Sommers-Schwartz-P.C.-Announces-Filing-Securities-Class|website=Business Wire|access-date=April 27, 2018|date=February 19, 2018}}</ref>

== Promotional sponsorship ==

[[Major League Soccer]] team [[Real Salt Lake]] announced on October 29, 2013, that it had partnered with LifeVantage for a long-term, multimillion-dollar jersey-front sponsorship. The partnership was set to formally go into effect on January 1, 2014, with the LifeVantage logo appearing on the Real Salt Lake jersey starting in the next season.<ref name="RSL042717">{{cite news|title=Real Salt Lake unveils new long-term jersey-front partnership with LifeVantage|url=https://www.rsl.com/post/2013/10/29/real-salt-lake-unveils-new-long-term-jersey-front-partnership-lifevantage|access-date=April 27, 2017|publisher=RealSaltLake.com|date=October 29, 2013}}</ref> 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&nbsp;percent ownership stake in LifeVantage.<ref name="SBN" />

== See also ==
* [[List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments]]
* [[Quackery]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.lifevantage.com/ LifeVantage Corporation], the manufacturer of Protandim
* [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pursued-by-protandim-proselytizers/ Pursued by Protandim Proselytizers]

{{Multi-level marketing}}

[[Category:Dietary supplements]]
[[Category:Multi-level marketing products]]
[[Category:Multi-level marketing companies based in Utah]]
[[Category:2003 establishments in Utah]]
[[Category:Companies based in Salt Lake City]]
[[Category:Health fraud products]]