The same is happening in the field of laboratory developed tests. This is not exactly solid ground on which to build a business or invest in new and innovative products, which will make it much more difficult for the sector to grow and flourish—ultimately depriving consumers of the best products.
In our view, the FDA deliberately cultivates the idea that supplements are unregulated, unsafe, “grey area” products in order create legal uncertainty and gain more power over them. When you create a narrative that the supplement industry is the Wild West, you’re more likely to get Congress to give you additional oversight, as Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is doing with his anti-supplement policy. Never mind the data that clearly show existing laws, many of which are not enforced, ensure supplements are already considerably safer than conventional foods.
Just recently, Representative Jeff Duncan (R-SC) sent a letter to the FDA asking why the agency refused to follow up on testing submitted by supplement company NOW Foods finding widespread fraud and mislabeling in commonly sold supplements on e-commerce platforms. The FDA’s response? In a nutshell, the agency said it doesn’t take enforcement action based on third party reports.
But this is really nothing new. After the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was passed in 1994, the FDA commissioner at the time, Dr. David Kessler, was reportedly “so infuriated by the enactment of DSHEA that he ordered the FDA not to enforce the new law.” Former FDA officials subsequently admitted that the goal of this policy of non-enforcement was to allow the worst aspects of the supplement industry to run wild in hope that the law would be repealed.
What happens to NMN will be incredibly important for our access to products moving forward. If a NMN ban goes through, it would create a situation that defies common sense where the closely-related NAD precursor, nicotinamide riboside, is accepted as GRAS and a legal supplement because it has no prior challenge from a company claiming it as an investigational new drug (IND). A ban would also send a warning signal to supplement companies: don’t bother innovating, or doing the legwork to find and develop new and exciting natural compounds into products that can support our health.
We cannot let that happen.
Action Alert! Write to Congress, urging them to protect access to NMN supplements
Please send your message immediately.
Protect Access to Lifespan Supplement
The FDA has said that
We cannot let MetroBiotech, the company responsible, get away with this without bringing wider attention to this issue. We’re asking members of Congress to sponsor a bill that would prevent NMN from being banned as a supplement. Help us get the word out far and wide to Congressional members!