Hawaii firm’s compound chosen for anti-aging tests

A Honolulu-based pharmaceutical company’s synthetic remedy for inflammation has been selected for a national research center’s anti-aging testing program.

Cardax Inc. said Sunday that the National Institute on Aging within the National Institutes of Health selected Cardax’s synthetic astaxanthin compound called CDX-085 for its anti-aging Interventions Testing Program. Astaxanthin is an anti-inflammatory naturally found in marine organisms, such as microalgae, crustaceans, salmon and trout. It is what gives the marine animals their color.

The institute will build on the research done at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine on CDX-085. In March UH and Cardax announced that CDX-085 showed the ability to activate the FOXO3 gene in mice, which plays a role in long lifespans.

Bradley Willcox, director of Research at the Department of Geriatric Medicine at UH, said National Institutes of Health’s use of the compound puts CDX-085 in a “very elite club of compounds that have the potential to become true anti-aging therapies.”

Cardax CEO David Watumull said the selection validates the company’s work.

“Out of all the compounds they could have chosen, they chose ours,” Watumull said.

In January, Cardax rolled out its commercial product, ZanthoSyn, in 29 Hawaii GNC stores as a dietary supplement.

The company has done clinical studies on its product, which it says is purer and more easily absorbed than natural astaxanthin, but cannot sell it as a medicine. Under Food and Drug Administration regulations, Cardax can say its product is generally regarded as safe but also indicates on packaging that stated health claims have not been evaluated by the FDA. A disclaimer also states, “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”

Cardax’s stock, which trades over the counter, jumped 12 percent, or 1.5 cents, to 14 cents on Monday. The volume was 305,534 shares, which was more than five times its average daily volume.