1999 Mannatech Inc. tells consumers scientific studies show its nutritional supplements are safe, promote good health and are even covered by a health insurance plan.
Investors get another story.
In documents for its initial public stock sale last month, Mannatech told potential buyers it doesn't know if its products are safe, or even if they work. Stephen Boyd, a physician who is Mannatech's international medical director, praises its supplements in a recorded message for prospective customers. Company executives declined to comment about the products, which are sold through more than 400,000 independent agents nationwide and in Australia. Ambrotose transcends all forms of malady because it supplies the body with those unique components that truly allow the body to heal itself,'' Caster says. In its IPO filing, Mannatech cautioned investors that its MVP product, marketed for weight control, contains ephedrine, a substance the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has linked to heart attacks, strokes and death.