SCIENTIFIC STUDY FINDS THE PHARMANEX® BIOPHOTONIC SCANNER MORE PRECISE IN MEASURING CAROTENOIDS THAN CURRENT GOLD STANDARD METHOD

Clinical study presented at the American College of Nutrition

PROVO, Utah—Oct. 25, 2004—Pharmanex announces the conclusion of a scientific study that adds further validation to the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner. The study, "Clinical Validation of a Novel Raman Spectroscopic Technology to Non-Invasively Assess Carotenoid Status in Humans," was presented by Carsten Smidt, Ph.D., vice president of global research and development for Pharmanex, at the 45th annual meeting of the American College of Nutrition (ACN) in Long Beach, CA on Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2004.

The study showed that the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner, the only non-invasive method to measure carotenoid antioxidant activity in human tissue, produced measurements with less variability than blood carotenoids (measured by conventional HPLC methods). The study also found a very strong, highly significant correlation between the BioPhotonic Scanner scores and blood carotenoids, the current accepted gold standard in research.

"This is the paramount scientific validation study we have all been anticipating and the results are even better than expected," said Smidt. "We have solidly validated the Scanner's ability to determine human carotenoid antioxidant status non-invasively. We have presented our scanner-related research at many scientific meetings over the past two years, and the instrument is very well-accepted among scientific experts."

A summary of the ACN presentation has been published in the October 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. A full-length publication of the study is in preparation.

Methodology
The study — conducted by Jeff Zidichouski, Ph.D., Steve Poole, and Carsten Smidt, Ph.D., from Pharmanex, Research Institute, Provo, UT— focused on validating the non-invasive Raman-spectroscopic method in assessing carotenoid status in humans.

Carotenoids are an important group of dietary nutrients with many human health benefits. Measurement of carotenoids from blood serum (invasive) is the current accepted means of assessment. Recently, a Raman-spectroscopic method was introduced as a non-invasive alternative to assess carotenoid status in humans using the Biophotonic Scanner.

To validate the Biophotonic Scanner, 372 healthy adults participated in a clinical trial. Within an 8-day period, each subject provided 3 fasted blood samples and 3 same-day Raman-spectroscopic determinations of skin carotenoids. The variability of the biophotonic method was significantly less (9.48 percent) than that observed using the serum/HPLC method (10.44 percent). The correlation between the biophotonic skin and HPLC serum measurements was high (r=0.82) and statistically highly significant.

These data provide further validation that the Biophotonic Scanner is a viable non-invasive and alternative method to rapidly assess carotenoid status in humans.

About the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner
Developed by doctors, physicists and engineers at a leading research university, the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner is the world's first immediate and non-invasive method of measuring carotenoid antioxidants in human tissue. By simply placing the palm of the hand in front of a low-energy blue light laser, consumers obtain a reading of their own carotenoid antioxidant level. When the purified blue laser light strikes the palm of the hand, it is slightly shifted toward a green light due to the chemical make up of the carotenoid antioxidant molecules.

When a person's antioxidant levels are measured, the amount of reflected green light is gathered and assessed to produce a numeric reading—the Skin Carotenoid Score. This number correlates with levels of carotenoids—a powerful antioxidant—in the diet, blood and tissues. Since the Scanner measures the major carotenoid antioxidants, the Skin Carotenoid Score is an important indicator of the body's overall antioxidant defense system. Visit www.pharmanexscanner.com for more information.

The Pharmanex BioPhontonic Scanner is not a medical device or a diagnostic tool of any kind. This instrument is not intended to diagnose, treat, mitigate, cure, or prevent any disease or affect the structure or any function of the body.

The Company
Pharmanex, a Nu Skin Enterprises company, applies pharmaceutical processes and scientific measurement to create nutritional supplements for more than 30 markets worldwide. Pharmanex® products are sold direct to the consumer through the Internet and a network of independent distributors. For more information, go to www.pharmanex.com.