Labdoor is a privately held medical company registered in San Francisco, California, founded in May 2012 by Neil Thanedar. It provides information on dietary supplements, which do not require testing by the FDA in the United States.[1]

Labdoor, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryProvides affiliate marketing of certified products Offers certification for supplement manufacturers for a fee
FoundedMay 2012 (May 2012)
FounderNeil Thanedar and others
Headquarters,
Websitewww.labdoor.com

History

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Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Shri Thanedar, Neil Thanedar graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with degrees in Cellular & Molecular Biology and Business Administration.[2][3]

Neil Thanedar co-founded Avomeen Analytical Services with his father in 2010.[4][5] He founded Labdoor (originally "Labrdr Inc"[6]) in May 2012[7][8] with co-founders Rafael Ferreira, Helton Souza, and Tercio Junker.[9][10][11] Labdoor pursued venture investors in 2012, 2015, and 2016, ultimately securing approximately $11 Million from groups including Y Combinator, Floodgate Fund, and Rock Health.[11][12][13] A controlling share of Avomeen Analytical Services was sold to an investment group in 2016.[14][15][16][17]

Products and services

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Since November 2013, Labdoor's primary income is affiliate marketing for retailers, such as Amazon, of products they have tested and certified.[18] Labdoor also offers testing services to supplement manufacturers, assessing "accuracy", "purity", and "sport".[19] If a product passes testing, Labdoor will also "drive sales" through its certification program and retailer referrals.[20][19]

As of September 2021, Labdoor's new product selection procedure uses market research and an internal "tally of votes" system to choose which new product category will be selected to test next.[21]

In June 2018, Labdoor launched the crypto-currency TEST. It seeks to create a incentive system for individuals or organizations to anonymously create or raise a bounty on a product for independent laboratories to test.[22][23] TEST will be in initial coin offering (ICO) stage through December 2018.[24]

Labdoor buys dietary supplements directly from retailers, sends the products to an FDA-registered laboratory for analysis,[citation needed] and publishes the findings. Its mission is to share information to help consumers make the right decisions for themselves about dietary supplements.[according to whom?] Labdoor's rankings have sometimes been published by the press and online media.[25][26][27][28][29]

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Their findings resulted in the FDA taking a closer look at the safety of energy drinks.[30] Labdoor evaluated Alex Jones's supplements, stating "the science behind many of their claimed ingredients are questionable."[31][32][33][34] Some 2015 tests of supplement products conducted by a third-party laboratory, which was organized by Labdoor and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), were first published and later retracted upon repeat testing.[35] The supplements were correctly labeled and there was no contamination nor deficiency in the products.[36]

As of August 2016, Labdoor allows manufacturers to challenge a report of a product by re-testing the product, or opt-out of having any reports of the manufacturer's products published on Labdoor's website.[37][38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Commissioner, Office of the. "Consumer Updates - FDA 101: Dietary Supplements". www.fda.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  2. ^ "Neil Thanedar". Medium. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  3. ^ "Neil Thanedar". Labdoor. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  4. ^ "Company Overview of Avomeen Analytical Services, Inc". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  5. ^ "About Us | Avomeen Analytical Laboratory Services". Avomeen Analytical Services. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  6. ^ "Indianapolis Startup LabDoor Is The Consumer Reports For Medicine & Supplements". seriousstartups.com. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  7. ^ Moukheiber, Zina. "Labdoor Wants To Shed Light On The Murky World Of Dietary Supplements". Forbes.
  8. ^ Thanedar, Neil (2017-06-28). "2017 Labdoor State of the Startup". Neil Thanedar. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  9. ^ "SEC FORM D". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  10. ^ "Labdoor". angel.co. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  11. ^ a b "Companies – Floodgate". floodgate.com. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  12. ^ "Rock Health Announces Partnership with Kaiser Permanente, Unveils Its Fourth Class of Startups | Rock Health". Rock Health. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  13. ^ "In Labdoor, Floodgate sees an e-commerce giant in disguise". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  14. ^ "Private equity firm buys controlling interest in Avomeen". Crain's Detroit Business. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  15. ^ "Ann Arbor CEO surprises employees with $1.5 million in holiday bonuses". MLive.com. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  16. ^ "Thanedar fights business fraud lawsuit as 'false'". Detroit News. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  17. ^ "Portfolio | High Street Capital". www.highstreetcapital.com. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  18. ^ "Our business model". Labdoor. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  19. ^ a b "Dietary Supplements Certifications - Labdoor Testing Services". Labdoor. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  20. ^ "Labdoor Testing Services - Chemical Laboratory Testing". Labdoor. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  21. ^ "ABOUT US". Labdoor. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  22. ^ "TEST | Home". testtoken.org. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  23. ^ Thanedar, Neil (2018-06-28). "TEST Foundation Launches to Protect Consumers through Decentralized Regulation of Health Products". Medium. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  24. ^ "Invest in TEST". republic.co. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  25. ^ "NutriGold Fish Oil Ranked #1 in the USA for "Highest Quality" by LabDoor.com". Globe News. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  26. ^ "Muscle Feast Grass-Fed Whey Isolate Review — Why So Cheap?". Bar Bend. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  27. ^ "Science Says This Is A Secret To Clearer Skin". Refinery 29. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  28. ^ Bannenberg, Gerard; Mallon, Craig; Edwards, Holly; Yeadon, Derek; Yan, Kevin; Johnson, Holly; Ismail, Adam (2017-05-03). "Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content and Oxidation State of Fish Oil Supplements in New Zealand". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 1488. Bibcode:2017NatSR...7.1488B. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-01470-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 5431122. PMID 28469193.
  29. ^ "Could blotting your pizza with a napkin really help you lose pounds?". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  30. ^ Morganteen, Jeff (14 May 2014). "Here's Silicon Valley's answer to the FDA". CNBC.
  31. ^ "SF lab finds out what's in Alex Jones' Infowars supplements". SFGate. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  32. ^ "Here's what's actually in Alex Jones' miracle supplements". Salon. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  33. ^ "Labdoor Special Report: We Tested the Infowars Supplements!". Labdoor. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  34. ^ "We Sent Alex Jones' Infowars Supplements To A Lab. Here's What's In Them". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  35. ^ "CBC retracts supplement report | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  36. ^ "Labdoor's Statement - CBC Marketplace Report". Labdoor. 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  37. ^ "Introducing: The Challenge Process". Labdoor. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  38. ^ "Introducing: The Opt-Out". Labdoor. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2018-10-02.