Signum Biosciences, Inc. is a

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

company in Monmouth Junction, NJ. Signum agreed in 2019 to stop making certain claims about its ''EHT'' supplement, and to stop allowing its

multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling th ...

partner firm Neora (formerly Nerium International) to make such claims.

History

Signum was founded in 2003.

Gregory Stock Gregory Stock is a biophysicist, best-selling author, biotech entrepreneur, and the former director of the Program on Medicine, Technology and Society at UCLA’s School of Medicine. His interests lie in the scientific and evolutionary as well as ...

served as the first CEO.

Neora (Nerium) partnership and FTC injunction

In 2015 Signum partnered with Neora, LLC (then known as Nerium International) to launch a

called eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide (EHT). EHT is derived from coffee and inhibits demethylation of the enzyme

protein phosphatase 2 Protein phosphatase 2 (PP2), also known as PP2A, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''PPP2CA'' gene. The PP2A heterotrimeric protein phosphatase is ubiquitously expressed, accounting for a large fraction of phosphatase activity in eu ...

(PPP2CA; PP2A). In October 2019 the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

won a permanent injunction against Signum BioSciences, Signum Nutralogix, and affiliated companies including Neora. The injunction prohibits claims or representations of EHT's efficacy in treating or mitigating

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, or brain injury including CTE and

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

, unless those claims are backed up by randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical testing.

References

{{reflist Biotechnology companies of the United States 2003 establishments in New Jersey Multi-level marketing products Federal Trade Commission litigation