Supplement Refund/ Shark Cartilage Refund

Just saw this and thought I'd share. Co. to Refund Millions for Cancer Claims October 24, 2005 7:33 PM EDT PHILADELPHIA - A supplement maker that wrongly claimed its shark-cartilage and other products had cancer-fighting benefits plans to refund customers millions of dollars. Lane Labs USA-Inc. has tentatively agreed to return up to $8 million to customers who bought three products targeted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, company attorney Paul Fishman said Monday. Last year, a federal judge agreed with an FDA request to ban the Allendale, N.J.-based company from selling the three products and allowed the agency to order customer restitution. Supplement makers cannot claim their products can treat, prevent or cure specific diseases without approval from the FDA, which Lane Labs did not obtain. The company lost its appeal Friday. Lane Labs and founder Andrew Lane can no longer sell BeneFin, made from shark cartilage, as a treatment for cancer; SkinAnswer, a glycoalkaloid cream, as a treatment for skin cancer; and MGN-3, a rice-bran extract, as a treatment for cancer and HIV. The products were sold in health-food stores and over the Internet.

"Supplement makers cannot claim their products can treat, prevent or cure specific diseases without approval from the FDA." And I DOUBT seriously that the FDA WILL EVER give approval as long as the drug companies can't patent the substance. Even reliable and trusted people have been black balled by the FDA even when they did have strong supporting evidence, (read "Alive and Well"). I must say in this case I am pleased though due to the fact that I never once say any studies or evidence to the fact that Shark cartilage did anything other than kill sharks.