LifeVantage  

Initially, I spent evenings and weekends pouring over reams of general scientific studies related to SOD, CAT and GPX, as well as any natural herbal/botanicals that had even a slight notation in the scientific literature concerning an effect on these enzymes. In addition, I looked at plant extracts that had a relation to memory processing (you’ll have to wait for the whole story to understand why later.) I drew extensively from traditional Chinese and Indian medicine for further sources. I began to see patterns and comprised a list of over 30 potential candidates before focusing on seven core ingredients consisting of specific extracts of the various source plant materials. I had wished to also include various mineral co-factors and amino acid building blocks for the antioxidant enzymes, but this was later deemed to be unnecessary. I had also considered adding in multi-vitamin ingredients to make it an “all-in-one” daily pill, but we also determined that wasn’t a necessary approach either. We decided to instead focus on the core Protandim composition.

Protandim Longevity: How did you finally come up with the end ingredients?

Paul: The various ingredients were weighted in a formula based on what I thought the most efficacious compounds were. Quite frankly, it was partly determined by hunches and guesswork at that point. Dr. McCord ended up doing further research on the various elements and helped me to subsequently adjust the balances accordingly. We also threw out two of the ingredients during that time. To answer your question, the working relationship with Dr McCord and Dr. Nelson was fabulous. Dr. McCord is truly a genius with a remarkable history concerning the antioxidant enzymes, and yet he is exceptionally humble. In my opinion, his only interest in commercializing the product was based on his desire to see it positively impact the health and lives of people, not based on a profit motive (which there was no arrangement or promise of when he was enlisted to do the testing anyway.) In that respect, I view him as a kindred spirit more committed to humanity than to personal gain.

Prodandim Longevity: Then what?

What happened next was nothing short of amazing. I was confident that we were on to something, especially since the preeminent scientist in the field saw validity in the original research and composition, but I never imagined the type of results that we would eventually attain. I thought that maybe we’d impact oxidative stress levels by pushing out or decreasing the slope of the age/oxidative stress relationship, but I was very surprised to see that we practically flat-lined it (almost totally eliminating age-related oxidative stress levels).

Rather than going into more detail, I believe there were two primary factors involved that helped Protandim come into existence:

First, I think that because I’m not a formulary scientist (and had no formulation experience up until that point), I didn’t realize that it couldn’t be done. Big Pharma had tried and failed using synthetic approaches to get the body to up-regulate the enzymes. The nutrition industry had largely failed using supplement approaches (after all, that’s what they do) to try to get more of the enzymes into the body. Nobody had really tried (that I’m aware of) to employ a natural approach that causes your body to simply produce more of the good stuff internally. Because the core composition came from a very unlikely source – me – we initially decided to hide that fact for marketing purposes and instead rely on the impeccable background of Dr. McCord. However, I now feel the genesis of Protandim makes for an interesting story that provides a unique marketing angle in its own right.

Second, I committed the formula to assist in rescuing and caring for orphans in the developing world. Orphan Lifeline (similarly named purposefully) was used as the non-profit vehicle for Lifeline to provide shares and contributions to see this mission occur. I also donated personal shares and income for this reason. Regardless of one’s specific beliefs or faith, we see the care of widows and orphans as a common priority across generations and cultures. I don’t think that’s a coincidence and I believe the development process and formula of Protandim were blessed accordingly.

Protandim Longevity: You also co-authored the first peer reviewed human study with Dr. McCord. How important was it to understand and accurately document the scientific data behind the finished product?

Paul: I documented the science behind all the ingredients when I originally put together the composition. Obviously all the other scientific data was gathered when the pre-clinical and human studies were conducted at the Webb-Waring Institute for Cancer, Aging and Antioxidant Research. Subsequent data is now being provided through a plethora of independent university studies.

It was extremely important to understand the science behind the product and its results. Lifeline (LifeVantage) was established to be a credible, science-based nutraceuticals company. It was imperative for us (and remains imperative to the current LifeVantage management team) to have real products of proven efficacy. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of folks out there claiming to have “miracle pills” or anti-aging “silver bullet” solutions. Most are charlatans or yahoos and, unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective, that is the competitive market Protandim is involved in. We desired to be science-based from an integrity standpoint, but also from a marketing standpoint.

Protandim Longevity: What do you think are the broader uses for Protandim and where would you like to see the research take you?

Paul: A simple Google search of the words “Oxidative Stress,” combined with any disease name, is evidence of Protandim’s broader uses. Depending on what sources you view, scientists believe Oxidative Stress has some sort of cause-or-effect relationship to 100 to 200 different disease conditions. I believe LifeVantage’s current science program to encourage or promote issue-specific studies is a sound strategy indeed. Since Big Pharma (through its proxy, the FDA) doesn’t allow supplements to make any disease claims, I think it’s important for the scientific literature to make those claims for us. Most people can then make the connection and understand how Protandim can be a positive part of their health regime.

As far as broader uses are concerned from a line-extension perspective, I’ve always been an advocate of seeing Protandim made available for the pet market. All mammals are attacked by Oxidative Stress and the original pre-clinical study (before human studies were subsequently conducted) shows how mammals in general can benefit from Protandim. There is a strong trend for healthier foods and supplements for pets right now. Protandim, once it’s gained more mindshare and market share concerning its incredible results in general, should be able to participate in the developing pet-health market quite considerably, either as a standalone product or an additive licensed to science-based pet food/supplement manufacturers.