COLD-fx now a 2010 Games sponsor
VANCOUVER - CV Technologies Inc., the controversial Edmonton-based company that makes cold-and-flu remedy COLD-fX, has become an official supplier to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The announcement was made Tuesday at the Olympic Oval in Richmond by Jacqueline Shan, the company's president and chief scientific officer, and Dave Cobb, Vanoc's executive vice-president of revenue, marketing and communications.
"COLD-FX is a Canadian success story that has taken great strides in keeping high-performance athletes healthy during their demanding competitive seasons," Cobb said.
Vanoc chief medical officer, Dr. Jack Taunton, also praised the product, which is derived from ginseng:
"CV Technologies has done praiseworthy and unique research in the field of cold and flu medicines, and the result is a Health Canada-approved, leading natural product with excellent quality standards," he said.
Also in attendance was Clara Hughes, an Olympic gold medal speed skater and one of only four athletes
in the world to win medals at both summer and winter games. She has had a sponsorship arrangement with COLD-fX for several years.
"As an athlete, you don't want to be beaten by a cold - so we're lucky to have COLD-fX available to us. Many of us count on it as we go for the gold," she said.
CV Technologies, whose shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has made headlines in The Vancouver Sun during the past several years, but for all the wrong reasons.
The Sun has challenged the company's therapeutic claims about COLD-fX on grounds the science is tenuous and there is little evidence the product works. This view was reinforced by the company's latest and largest-ever trial, released late last year.
Also, COLD-fX's label states the product provides "immediate relief" and most people take it for this purpose, but there has never been any scientific evidence to suggest it provides immediate relief. Health Canada has only approved COLD-fX as a long-term immune booster, but the company continues to advertise the product for immediate relief.
Shareholders have also been battered by the company's near-calamitous expansion into the United States, which resulted in large amounts of unsold product being returned for refunds. This led to a protracted trading halt and financial restatements that turned previously reported profits into losses. This, in turn, prompted two class actions lawsuits, which had not been resolved.
Meanwhile, two company executives have been charged by the Alberta Securities Commission for illegal insider trading.
Norm Oliver, the company's former senior vice-president of sales and marketing, was suspended from the Alberta securities market for one year and assessed a $375,000 fine and $25,000 in costs. In the second case, a hearing is still pending for Warren Michaels, the company's vice-president of communications.
Michaels is listed as a contact on the company's new release announcing its Olympic sponsorship.
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