Telomeres (nucleotide sequences that protect the ends of chromosomes from degradation) are associated with aging, as they contract with each cell division. In 2005, the New York-based company Telomerase Activation Sciences (TA Sciences) announced the creation of a nutritional supplement that, according to the developers, lengthened the contracted telomeres.
Since then, the pill, dubbed TA-65, has generated $ 6 million in revenue annually in the United States alone. All would be good, but former TA Sciences VP of Global Sales Brian Egan recently filed a class action lawsuit against the company challenging the drug's scientific basis, including the claim that TA-65 could lengthen telomeres. TA Sciences President Noel Patton denies everything.
Mr. Egan is far from the first skeptic. Research sponsored by TA Sciences has shown that an active ingredient isolated from the Astragalus membranaceus plant (important in Chinese medicine) actually increases telomere length in both mice and humans. But Carol Grader, the Nobel Prize winner for her study of telomeres, and others have questioned the methods of the study carried out by California-based Telomere Health.
Ms Greider is also perplexed about the sale of tablets as a dietary supplement rather than a drug. However, this can be explained very simply: in this case, large-scale clinical trials in humans are not required.
Mr. Egan claims that in May 2011, the management forced him to accept TA-65, because in some way it was supposed to help promote the tablets in foreign markets. Shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In September 2011, he was fired and at the same time was allegedly offered money to keep this story a secret. However, under oath, Mr. Patton testified that accepting the product was not mandatory, and Mr. Egan was fired for poor sales.
In March 2012, TA Sciences filed a lawsuit against Mr. Egan, claiming that he was lying and had cancer before we hired him. Mr. Egan and another person who swallowed the TA-65 responded with a counterclaim on 23 July.
