"Use Patents" and Supplements

Why would any sane person spend big bucks to get a patent on an inexpensive supplement that can be bought in any health food store?

Contents

Page 1
Why do people buy "use patents" on nutritional supplements?
Page 2
But the patents are on formulas, not individual supplements.
Page 3
Are they really trying to crush alternative medicine?
Didn't we win health freedom when the DSHEA was passed?

I know the FDA is not big on supplements, but isn't it kind of paranoid to think that they are trying to crush alternative medicine?

They don't want to crush alternative medicine, the FDA (and the pharmaceutical companies) want to take it over. (Actually, I'm being redundant -- FDA officials enjoy revolving-door employment with the pharmaceutical industry.) How can this be paranoia when it has already happened in many countries? It sounds to me like you have been relying on the mainstream media to keep you informed. Big mistake!

The modus operandi of the international pharmaceutical cartel is clear to anyone who looks at what they have already done in other countries: They buy the politicians, lock up the supplements with use patents, kill the competition with ridiculous regulatory hurdles, and change the legal definition of supplements from "foods" to "drugs." The supplement companies are crushed because they can't afford the huge investment of time and money required to get regulatory approval of these new "drugs."

By the way, this "drug" status is the reason why it is now a criminal offense (in Norway, Germany, etc.) to sell 500 mg Vitamin C tablets or even moderately-potent multivitamins. About two thirds of the people in America's jails are non-violent drug offenders. Do we really want to get supplements involved in the insane war against drugs?

There is absolutely no benefit to the consumer when the international pharmaceutical companies monopolize the industry. For example, in Germany the highest potency vitamin C that you can legally buy is 250 mg tablets that are made by Merck. The price for 30 of these pathetically weak tablets is 18.89 DM or $12.27 U.S. (1). That is about 18 TIMES what we pay in America. BTW, if you prefer capsules you are out of luck because they don't sell them. Monopolies do not need to cater to the whims of the customers.

This nightmare is what our politicians have in mind when they talk about "harmonizing" our supplement laws with "international standards." They want to "harmonize" our laws with oppressive proposals of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (a joint UN/WHO organization). As you have seen, the pharmaceutical cartel has been taking over the European supplement market and America is next in line. They are so certain that they can conquer America that there is even a magazine, published exclusively for retail pharmacists, called "The Natural Pharmacist."

Written
May 1998
Last Update
May 1998

But we fought the FDA and now the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) is the law of the land; hasn't the battle for health freedom been won?

Health freedom is a war of attrition. The FDA's attempts to regulate vitamins as drugs dates back at least as far as the early 1970s when they were finally stopped by the passage of a bill sponsored by Sen. William Proxmire. But the FDA keeps coming back at us.

In 1993, the FDA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) which would severely limit free access to vitamins and minerals. Herbs and amino acids were also on the hit list. Once again, public outrage stopped the FDA and the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was passed. Don't let anyone tell you that letter writing doesn't make a difference!

However, even after the DSHEA, the war continues. According to the FDA, vitamin B-12 magically becomes a DRUG when it is put in a nasal gel. Believe it or not, a court actually AGREED with the FDA's bizarre new age alchemy. John Hammell wrote about the case in Life Extension Magazine:

"In a recent decision (USA vs Nature's Bounty), the U.S. Court of appeals ruled that Ener B Nasal Gel -- a vitamin B-12 supplement administered nasally -- is not a dietary supplement and cannot be introduced into interstate commerce until the FDA approves the product as a new drug." (2).

If the 'use patent' people succeed, supplements will be classified as drugs and the only way you will be able to get them is with a prescription. The holder of the use patent could charge as much as he wants. Imagine your vitamins priced Meridia-style!

patent, fda, dshea

"Use Patents" and Supplements

References