Elysium Health™ Responds to Baseless Allegations by Disgruntled Former Supplier
Sep 19, 2018, 10:00 ET
NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Elysium Health, Inc.,™ a life sciences company developing clinically validated health products based on aging research, responded today to the baseless allegations by ChromaDex and Dartmouth College that it had infringed on two patents. One of these patents is already the subject of an inter partes review by the Patent Trial and Review Board of the USPTO to determine the patent's validity, and both are the subject of existing litigation against ChromaDex charging it with misuse of its intellectual property.
"While we would not normally issue a statement, and instead prefer to let these matters play out in court, ChromaDex's actions have made it necessary to do so," said Elysium Health CEO Eric Marcotulli. "We have built our growth strategy around scientific research and product development, while ChromaDex has built its around litigation and misrepresentation, which are not new tactics for their leadership."
The press releases issued by Elysium Health in 2018 included announcements that the company had been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA for its experimental therapeutic EH301 for the potential treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was recognized by the Good Housekeeping Institute for innovation, and had entered into an exclusive license agreement with Mayo Clinic and Harvard University to use nicotinamide riboside for dietary supplement applications in the slowing of aging and age-related diseases. During the same period, ChromaDex announced that it had abandoned direct involvement in development of a nicotinamide riboside-based treatment for children afflicted with Cockayne Syndrome so that it could focus on its TruNiagen dietary supplement sales strategy, coopted the results of studies carried out by independent research institutions to promote TruNiagen, and frequently sought to publicize its dispute with Elysium Health and the ongoing litigations, including in direct advertising for TruNiagen.
ChromaDex has thus far remained silent on the alleged involvement of several of its major investors and the former co-chairs of its board of directors in a fraudulent "pump and dump" scheme detailed in a civil complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 7, 2018, and described in an SEC press release entitled "SEC Charges Microcap Fraudsters for Roles in Lucrative Market Manipulation Schemes." Among those named as defendants, Phillip Frost and Michael Brauser are and historically have been among the largest holders of ChromaDex stock, and Barry Honig was, along with Brauser, co-chair of ChromaDex's board of directors until March 2015 when they abruptly resigned. Current ChromaDex board member Steve Rubin is also an executive and board member of OPKO Health, which invested in ChromaDex in 2012, of which Frost and his affiliates are significant shareholders, and is also named as a defendant in the SEC's lawsuit.
"It is not surprising that the SEC is investigating the alleged unscrupulous conduct of these ChromaDex-affiliated individuals, who have previously represented to us their continuing control over the company," said Marcotulli. "We have reason to believe that ChromaDex's efforts to undermine Elysium Health, including through these baseless lawsuits, is connected to these individuals and their current associates at the company. In deference to the judicial system, we have declined to comment publicly for the last two years and we do not intend to make a habit of commenting on ongoing litigation."
Elysium Health takes intellectual property rights very seriously and respects the intellectual property rights of others. Elysium Health is confident that it does not infringe any valid claim of the patents described in ChromaDex's most recent baseless lawsuit and trusts that the court will arrive at the same conclusion.
About Elysium Health™
Elysium Health's™ mission is to solve the biggest challenges in health with science, to help people live healthier, longer. Working directly with the world's leading scientists and clinicians, Elysium Health™ is dedicated to translating advances in aging research and technology into effective, clinically proven products that help people manage their health in an actionable way. Learn more at www.elysiumhealth.com.
SOURCE Elysium Health
