What happened?
On February 16th, Amazon sent a message to all NMN companies on its platform. Their letter states, “Products that contain NMN as an ingredient can no longer be sold or distributed as a dietary supplement by manufacturers or retailers in the United States.” This means that Amazon has effectively banned NMN from its website.
What does the Amazon ban on NMN mean to consumers?
Consumers will not be able to buy NMN products on Amazon starting March 2023. This move will surely cause a significant inconvenience for those who rely on Amazon. They will now need to explore other avenues to obtain NMN products.
According to some industry watchdogs, a silver lining can be found in the news. Ultimately, a significant number of imposter brands from Chinese manufacturers will be eliminated. A majority of these brands produce low-grade NMN products in chemical plants with questionable purity levels. The Amazon ban will prevent these sham NMN peddlers from taking advantage of unsuspecting customers. By simply by removing their direct and often only sales channel in the U.S., consumers will be protected against potentially harmful products.
Did Amazon ban NMN due to a safety issue?
No, Amazon’s banning of NMN sales is not related to safety concerns. On November 4, 2022, the FDA issued a controversial letter revoking NMN’s previously assigned status as a dietary supplement and excluding it from the definition. The reason behind this decision is the current investigation of NMN as a potential pharmaceutical drug. As a result, Amazon has decided to remove the sale of NMN products from its platform.
While Amazon’s decision to remove NMN products is unrelated to safety issues, it is worth considering that safety concerns have arisen in the past. Primarily are reports of phony NMN supplements sold mostly on Amazon with inadequate purity levels, no stability studies, and without GMP certification. However, we encourage consumers to remain positive and continue incorporating NMN supplements into their daily health and wellness routine, provided they source them from reputable and trusted sources.
How and where to buy safe NMN products after Amazon’s removal?
We expect that consumers will still be able to find NMN after the Amazon ban. Established brands, such as Wonderfeel Biosciences, possess a deep understanding of NAD precursors and back their supplements with clinical research. These sources are trustworthy, and consumers can rely on them to provide safe and effective NMN products manufactured in GMP-certified facilities.
Why did Amazon ban sales of NMN products at its store?
Amazon is banning sales of NMN products in its stores because of an FDA letter stating that NMN is not considered a dietary supplement as of November 2023. This is a reversal of FDA’s previous decision. Their stated reason is to protect a pharmaceutical drug development application for a patented version of NMN. It’s disheartening that Amazon is putting the interests of the pharmaceutical industry ahead of the health and well-being of its customers who rely on NMN supplements in their daily regimen.
More on FDA’s Letter Revoking NMN’s Status as a Dietary Supplement:
Members of the dietary supplement and general wellness communities are actively opposing this controversial and unprecedented announcement.
While all involved parties work towards the ultimate resolution of this confusing situation, Wonderfeel’s team is actively consulting with their legal team on the best way to move forward. We also know that the current state of affairs may cause supply disruptions and the availability of NMN products in the U.S. market. Rest assured, we are taking every possible measure to ensure our products remain accessible to both our existing subscribers and new customers.
Know that our commitment to making a product you’ve come to rely on is unwavering. This is a perfect time to emphasize that safety, science, innovation, and a proactive approach to wellness are at our core.
Our Guiding Principles.
- We take all measures to ensure that our customers receive a safe and stable supplement that accredited third-party labs test for purity. We produce our product at facilities in the USA certified for Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP).
- The NMN sourced for our products is clinically tested in one of the most extensive human clinical trials to date. Based on various health markers, the resulting toxicology report shows that NMN at 900mg per day is well-tolerated.
- We continue to advance the science of NMN. On November 10, we announced an in vitro study of our novel NMN supplement on human cells.
- We believe in an individual’s right to govern their own wellness protocols. We will make our NMN products available outside of the Amazon ban in jurisdictions that protect the rights of consumers above pharmaceutical companies. We will continue sales of NMN as a dietary supplement.
- Countries like Japan have sold NMN as a dietary supplement since 2016. It’s worth noting that this was well before Metro International Biotech LLC, the company mentioned in the FDA’s statement, began conducting research on their NMN derivative in the United States.
A world where everyone wins.
- As part of our current preclinical and clinical studies, we are laying the groundwork for Pharma development of our formulations. These can run parallel to our nutraceutical pursuits without infringing on anyone else’s IP or the ability to market our products as dietary supplements. While we advocate for the protection of drug development, we believe that such efforts shouldn’t deprive the public of safe and readily used supplements. We firmly believe that there exist many sustainable business models for the pharmaceutical drug development of NMN and its over-the-counter derivatives.
- In keeping with our founding principle – a proactive approach to health and wellness – we commit to providing publicly available, natural solutions backed by rigorous science. We have observed tens of thousands of Americans safely benefiting from NMN supplements. The ban on NMN sales by Amazon is disheartening for many people who buy their NMN on the platform. We hope that FDA takes this into consideration by looking out for the public interest. Not by taking a safe and efficacious product like NMN out of the hands of consumers like you.
Robert (“Bob”) Durkin, former Deputy Director of Dietary Supplements at FDA from 2015 until 2019, stated, “…an ingredient that was legally on the market is suddenly retroactively excluded from the definition of a dietary supplement. It’s hard to imagine that’s what Congress intended.” referring to FDA interpretation of legislation relating to NMN.