Cardax expands into Asia with ZanthoSyn product

Cardax Inc., which began rolling out its anti-inflammatory product ZanthoSyn nationally at GNC stores in August, is now extending its reach into Asia.

The Honolulu-based company is expected to announce today that it has signed a purchase agreement with Health Elite Club Ltd. of Hong Kong to distribute ZanthoSyn in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

“HECL’s distribution model looks quite promising and their principals are highly credible,” Cardax President and CEO David Watumull said in a statement. “We look forward to building our relationship as HECL’s business grows in China.”

In a separate announcement due out today, Cardax said ZanthoSyn was the top-selling product in Hawaii GNC stores in the fourth quarter, according to information provided to Cardax by GNC Holdings Inc. ZanthoSyn, which in December became available in more than 3,000 GNC stores in the U.S., also now can be purchased at GNC stores on Guam.

“This achievement (locally) reflects strong retail engagement by Hawaii GNC personnel as well as strong product acceptance across a broad range of consumer demographics,” said Gilbert Shin, Cardax vice president of retail sales and marketing.

Cardax, which didn’t have any revenue until it introduced ZanthoSyn at 29 Hawaii GNC stores in January 2017, saw its revenue take off after signing the national deal with GNC.

The astaxanthin dietary supplement enabled Cardax to generate $322,000 in revenue in the third quarter, a large increase from $66,237 in the second quarter. Cardax is not scheduled to announce its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings until next month.

HECL, the Hong Kong-based company, was founded by a group of entrepreneurs who are proponents of healthy aging, according to Cardax. HECL is a membership-based, invitation-only club targeting high-net-worth and high-profile Chinese from the greater China area. Most sales will occur online, Cardax said, and will be distributed under HECL’s house brand, Puerfons, with all packaging and marketing materials to feature the ZanthoSyn brand.

“We are excited to bring Puerfons ZanthoSyn into this important market,” HECL Chairman Li Wu said. “With China’s increasing industrialization and associated pollution challenges, inflammatory health, with its relationship to longevity, is increasingly important, especially to its rapidly growing aging population.”

Cardax’s stock, which closed as high as 54 cents on Aug. 29, fell to an intraday low of 7 cents on Dec. 6 but has since nearly tripled to 19 cents as of Friday.

The company also is developing and commercializing its next-generation ZanthoSyn product, CDX-085, for concentrated astaxanthin product applications.