Metabolife Investigation
The FDA has been investigating the safety of Ephedra for years. Because it
is a chemical cousin to speed, there has been great concern regarding its use
as a weight loss tool. One of the most popular Ephedra products is Metabolife.
This summer, at the request of the FDA, the Justice Department launched a criminal
investigation into whether or not Metabolife lied about the safety of their
dietary supplement.
In 1998 Michael Ellis, then-Metabolife President, made a statement that "Metabolife
has never received one notice from a consumer that any serious adverse health
event has occurred because of the ingestion of Metabolife 365". Per the investigation
Metabolife has agreed to turn over records of 13,000 heath complaints they had
received from their customers. The FDA viewed the offer as "disingenuous" as
it has long sought the records as part of its probe of Ephedra, which has been
linked to dozens of deaths.
FDA acting commissioner Lester Crawford stated, "Metabolife has refused and
resisted us every step of the way. News that so many reports exist greatly heightens
our concern".
Court records from private lawsuits filed against Metabolife suggest that complaints
of serious illness did indeed exist prior to 1998. The justice department says
it now has information Metabolife did know about serious injuries. The Justice
Department recently told the FDA that "(Ellis) may have committed a federal
crime" by making false statements.
It wouldn't be the first time former President Michael Ellis faced federal
charges. 10 years ago, 5 years before he entered the herbal supplement business,
he was arrested for running a methamphetamine lab, and convicted of using a
telephone to further a drug deal. In his meth lab days Ellis had used ephedrine
to make speed, today he uses it to make dietary supplements in a more than $600
million industry.
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