Multi-level marketer Shaklee loses endorsement of Harvard professor

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that Harvard Medical School professor David Sinclair has resigned from the board of Shaklee, a company that markets Vivix Cellular Anti-Aging Tonic, "the world's best anti-aging supplement", through a multi-level marketing system.

The Wall Street Journal has video footage (see below) of Dr. Sinclair speaking at the company's sales convention, describing the company's chairman and CEO Roger Barnett as the "greatest visionary of the 21st century."

That was in August and now he's gone. What prompted the change of heart? According to the Journal, "Following questions by The Wall Street Journal about his seeming endorsement of the product, Dr. Sinclair resigned from the board last week and now says his name has been misused in connection with Vivix, which contains the antioxidant resveratrol."

In an email to the Journal, he wrote that "To my dismay I have found numerous uses of my name and reputation on the Web and in other media that implies endorsement by me of Shaklee's Vivix product. I have engaged counsel to deal with this matter and have demanded that Shaklee cease using my name."

Methinks the good doctor doth protest too much. A cynical person might say that Sinclair endorsed a dubious network marketing product enthusiastically in exchange for his paid position on the company's advisory board and is now crying foul after the media raised questions about it.

Harvard Medical School is looking into the matter.