Elysium Health is an American manufacturer of dietary supplements based in New York City.

Elysium Health
Company typePrivate
IndustryDietary supplements
Founded2014; 10 years ago (2014)
Founders
  • Leonard Guarente
  • Eric Marcotulli
  • Dan Alminana
Headquarters
Websiteelysiumhealth.com

History

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Elysium Health was founded in 2014 by Leonard Guarente, Dan Alminana, and Eric Marcotulli.[1]

In 2015, Elysium introduced its first product, Basis, which contains nicotinamide riboside and pterostilbene.[2][3][4]

In December 2016, Elysium received an investment of $20 million in Series B funding.[5][6]

In 2019, Elysium introduced a test called Index that uses epigenetic analysis on saliva samples to estimate biological age.[7][8]

In October 2021, Elysium launched a supplement called Format, which is associated with anti-aging and immune system support.[9][10]

Criticism

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The company has been criticized for using its advisory board to lend credibility to its product and for heavily marketing their product on social media.[11][12][2][13]

Litigation

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Elysium originally bought the ingredients in Basis from ChromaDex, which as of December 2016, sold the two ingredients to other supplement companies that also marketed products containing them.[2][13][14] The two companies had an agreement under which Elysium Health did not have to acknowledge ChromaDex as the source of the ingredients, but then after Elysium recruited the VP of business development from ChromaDex and reportedly stopped paying ChromaDex, ChromaDex sued Elysium and the information became public.[15]

In September 2018, Dartmouth College and ChromaDex sued Elysium for infringing on patents for nicotinamide riboside.[16] In August 2020, W.R. Grace and Company also sued Elysium for infringing on their patents for crystalline nicotinamide riboside.[17] In September 2021, the claims by Dartmouth and ChromaDex were dismissed by a U.S. district judge, essentially invalidating their patents.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Friend, Tad (April 3, 2017). "Silicon Valley's quest to live forever". The New Yorker.
  2. ^ a b c Wallace, Benjamin (August 23, 2016). "An MIT scientist claims that this pill is the fountain of youth". New York Magazine.
  3. ^ Zhang, Sarah. "The Weird Business Behind a Trendy "Anti-Aging" Pill". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  4. ^ Weintraub, Karen (February 3, 2015). "The anti-aging pill". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Anti-aging pill startup Elysium Health inks at least $20 million in Series B funding". TechCrunch.
  6. ^ "Anti-aging pill maker Elysium Health raises $20 million". December 6, 2016 – via Reuters.
  7. ^ Harris, Ainsley (2019-11-04). "How old are you really? Elysium Health will tell you—for $500". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  8. ^ Corbyn, Zoë (2022-05-07). "Morgan Levine: 'Only 10-30% of our lifespan is estimated to be due to genetics'". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  9. ^ Marks, Taylor. "Format: Elysium's New Supplement for the Aging Immune System". AGEIST. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  10. ^ Lieberman, Maryam (16 December 2021). "The Best Beauty Supplements of 2021". W Magazine. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  11. ^ Weintraub, Karen (January 6, 2017). "Critics blast star-studded advisory board of anti-aging company". MIT Technology Review.
  12. ^ Vinluan, Frank (6 December 2016). "First clinical trial done, Elysium lands $20M for health supplements". Xconomy.
  13. ^ a b Zhang, Sarah (July 6, 2016). "The weird business behind a trendy "anti-aging" pill". Wired.
  14. ^ Lowe, Derek (25 April 2016). "Subtle changes can be yours, for fifty dollars a month". In the Pipeline.
  15. ^ Buhr, Sarah (January 16, 2017). "A new lawsuit alleges anti-aging startup Elysium Health hasn't paid its sole supplier". TechCrunch.
  16. ^ Schultz, Hank. "ChromaDex, Elysium lock horns over outcome of appeals court decision on nicotinamide riboside patents". NutraIngredients-USA. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  17. ^ Yasiejko, Christopher. "W.R. Grace Sues Elysium for Patent Damages on Dietary Supplement". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  18. ^ "Jury verdict tilts toward Elysium Health in dispute with ChromaDex, court records show". Natural Products INSIDER. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
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