Telomeres, the nucleotide sequences that protect chromosome ends from degradation, have been linked to aging as they shorten during every cell division. In 2005, the New York-based Telomerase Activation Sciences (TA Sciences) created a dietary supplement they claimed could lengthen shortened telomeres. The pill, named TA-65, brings in $6 million in annual US sales. Now, former TA Sciences Vice President for Global Sales Brian Egan has filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, challenging the supplement’s scientific basis, including the claim that TA-65 can lengthen telomeres. The president of TA Sciences, Noel Patton, denies all allegations.
Egan isn’t the first to be skeptical. “A compound that can lengthen telomeres would be excellent,” Carol Greider, who shared the Nobel Prize for her work on telomeres told Nature, but “we would need to test it rigorously.” Research sponsored by TA Sciences has shown the active ingredient, isolated from the herb Astragalus membranaceus ...
