The Protandim Controversy: The Myhill Mayhem

From Wikipedia: Protandim is a patented^[2] dietary supplement marketed by LifeVantage Corporation (NASDAQ: LFVN; formerly LifeLine Therapeutics and Yaak River Resources, Inc), a Utah-based multilevel marketing company.^[3] The manufacturers of Protandim claim the product can indirectly increase antioxidant activity by upregulating endogenous antioxidant factors such as the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, as well as the tripeptide glutathione. Like all dietary supplements, Protandim has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and “is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”^[4]

Protandim consists mainly of a blend of 5 herbal ingredients (amounts per caplet listed in parentheses):

• Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) extract (225 mg)
• Bacopa (Bacopa monniera) extract (150 mg)
• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root (150 mg)
• Green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract (75 mg)
• Turmeric (Curcuma Ionga) extract (75 mg)

Additional ingredients include: calcium, croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, modified cellulose, silica, and stearic acid.

Who is Paul Myhill? The Controversy about the original formulation.

In March 2009, Paul Myhill confirmed that LifeVantage decided to hide that he was involved in developing Protandim “and instead rely on the impeccable background of” Joe McCord for marketing purposes. As recently as July 21, 2011, LifeVantage credited McCord as the creator of Protandim on its website. At a 2011 conference for LifeVantage distributors, McCord attempted to clear up the controversy claiming that Myhill and Driscoll presented him with a list of 41 ingredients of which he crossed off 36 leaving the 5 ingredients in the current formulation of Protandim.  In April, 2012, Myhill produced a signed letter from McCord from 2005 refuting this story. In the letter, McCord rejected credit for inventing Protandim writing, “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.

In an open Letter on His now defunct facebook page, (http://facebook.com/protandim.founder, see his active page here) Myhill writes:

‎*** FOR THE RECORD ***

“I love Protandim and LifeVantage. They are indeed “my babies” and a great part of my legacy. They have changed my life and the lives of thousands around the world. I think the current management team and distribution model are excellent. All the distributors I have met or talked to are simply amazing. As David Brown mentioned at Elite in San Antonio, this is the embodiment of my original vision for the company and product.

“I also need to say that there are not “two sides to the story” as far as the development of Protandim is concerned. There is only one story – and it honors my involvement and Joe’s involvement, plus the involvement of the One who was ultimately responsible.

“Nobody lied. Nobody covered anything up. Sure, there have been some misspoken words, media/reporter errors, and some confusion over terminology: inventor versus formulator; creator versus developer, etc., but this has been because we are simply human and not perfect, because we were treading into uncharted territory with the development of this game-changing product, and because we went through quite a few management team changes until we were blessed with this one. I take my fair share of the blame for the confusion caused along the way, and for not remaining engaged with LifeVantage during those dry years.

“Please don’t let the naysayers and critics dissuade you. This is an excellent company with an excellent product and excellent folks involved at all levels. I’m very proud of my involvement in the past, present and future.

. . . And that future looks incredibly bright!”

Myhill is the founder of TrafficJam, a non-profit organization that helps prevent and rescue trafficked children, raising awareness and funding through popular music and fashion.  He still thinks Protandim is a great product, and recommends it to everyone, but has “Broken Ties” with the company for reasons that may very well remain between him and CEO David Brown.  (I suspect it has something to do with company shares offered the charity, and a dispute surrounding them)

So, there is no controversy surrounding the product. It works, it always has, and it does what they claim that it does. Who formulated, invented, founded, or originally patented it is irrelevant from a business (and from a personal) perspective.   For now, the spokespersons for the company are Dr. Joe McCord and Donny Osmond.  Dr. McCord is the discoverer of Superoxide Dismutase (which is why it’s measured in McCord units) and Donny Osmond is a random celebrity who takes the product in question, and has a great smile.  Paul Myhill is the creator of the product known as Protandim, which is being represented by the likes of Dr. Joe McCord and Donny Osmond.

None of this has any effect whatsoever on the effectiveness of the product or the viability of the company.  But, lets give credit where credit is due.  If this product is a game-changer in your life, please consider making a charitable donation to TrafficJam.