Companies feud over anti-aging formula
Firm's suit says Colorado competitor ripped off recipe for its dietary supplement
John Accola, Rocky Mountain News
Thursday, December 1, 2005
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Heralding a new youth potion for baby boomers' weathered bones, a Colorado Springs dietary supplement company is now in court for allegedly duplicating a rival's pricey anti-aging product.
Resource Maxima is accused of ripping off the formula for AgelessXtra, marketed by Oasis LifeSciences, a former Broomfield company that relocated to Washington state in 2004. The herbal- based vitamin concentrate is Oasis' flagship product and sells for $39.95 a bottle.
Oasis says its AgelessXtra formula has shown phenomenal success, generating gross sales of nearly $32 million since March 2003, according to the complaint.
The company's lawsuit says Resource Maxima is now selling a "virtually identical" product under the brand name Ageless Forever.
Resource Maxima was founded in 1995 by Colorado Springs couple Sandra and Gary Coe. Gary Coe declined to comment on the case Wednesday.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Denver federal court, alleges Resource Maxima obtained Oasis' patented formula in early 2005 from a California company that once manufactured Oasis products.
Resource Maxima and co-defendant SOE Trading & Management of Auburn, Calif., then began marketing the knockoff product under a "confusingly similar trademark" last October, said the complaint.
Oasis says Resource Maxima's patent and trademark violations are doing double damage by luring Oasis distributors to Resource Maxima's business. Shunning grocery stores and vitamin shops, both companies advertise on the Internet. To purchase the products, customers must go through a sales distribution network made up of individual entrepreneurs operating out of their homes.
In September 2004, Oasis - formerly known as MaxCell BioScience and Oasis Wellness Network in Broomfield - relocated to Lacey, Wash., taking 28 of its 80 Colorado employees.
Parent company Univera Inc. is family owned in South Korea and continues to operate its U.S. research subsidiary, Unigen Pharmaceuticals, in Denver.
On its Web site, Oasis describes AgelessXtra as an "antioxidant protection" that "supports a multitude of health benefits tailor made for the busy baby boomer."
Mix one-half ounce of Ageless- Xtra concentrate with 2.5 ounces of water, and the mixture - taken twice daily - will boost an individual's energy, mental clarity, joint comfort and flexibility, Oasis states.
Among the ingredients: corn and green tea extracts, fruit concentrates, ginkgo, black pepper, Chinese licorice and aloe vera.
Resource Maxima states on its Web site that the company's larger 32-ounce Ageless Forever product can "boost brain power" and contains herbs and vitamins that aid in "cellular restoration, rebuilding and renewing process."
The Web site says Resource Maxima was founded in 1995 by the Coes, who were in the weight-loss business and looking for a "natural alternative" for hormone replacement therapy.
Comparing potions
Oasis LifeSciences, formerly of Broomfield, says Resource Maxima is using the formula of its AgelessXtra product under the brand name Ageless Forever. According to the Oasis complaint, here's how the formulas compare:
| Ingredients | Oasis AgelessXtra | Resource Maxima Ageless Forever |
| Calories | 20 | 20 |
| Total carbohydrates | 5g | 5g |
| Sugars | 3g | 3g |
| VitaminB3(as niacinamide, niacin) | 18mg | 20mg |
| VitaminB6(as pyridoxal-5-phosphate) | 4mg | 4mg |
| Serenix corn extract (2-1) | 500mg | none |
| Greentea extract (70 percent Rhodiola rosea extract) | 220mg | 220mg |
| UltrinTG(Rhodiola rosea extract) | 150mg | 150mg |
| OKGOrnithine Keto-glutarate | 150mg | 150mg |
| Protection Proprietary BlendAcacia catechu (bark), Scutellaria baicalensis (root) | 125mg | 125mg |
| Cordyceps sinensis 4:1 extract | 125mg | 125mg |
| Fruit blend (blueberry, cranberry, cherry, grape concentrates) | 0.75 ounce | 0.75 ounce |
| Aloe vera 200:1 | 51mg | 50mg |
| Ginko biloba extract (leaf, 24 percent ginkoflavonglycosides/ 6 percent terpenclactones) | 10mg | 10mg |
| Alpha-lipoic acid | 10mg | 10mg |
| MaxCell (proprietary blend) jujube extract (fruit), black pepper extract (fruit), aloe vera (dried gel), Chinese licorice (root) | 2.5mg | 2.5mg |
| Cost | $39.95(24oz.) | $39.99(32oz.) |
accolaj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2666
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