The Pharmanex History

A Story of Innovation, Commitment to Excellence and Determination to Better People’s Lives

A leading pharmaceutical scientist, Dr. Michael Chang first conceived Pharmanex in 1994. His vision was to create safe and efficient dietary supplements by applying the disciplines of Western science to natural products.

During his 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Chang examined 50,000 different extracts, searching for ways to protect, preserve and improve people’s health. As Deputy Director of Medicinal Chemistry at pharmaceutical giant Merck, Sharp and Dohme, he traveled the world looking for “magic bullets,” those single chemicals that could be taken from a natural source and transformed into a drug.

According to Dr. Chang, working with drug companies often resulted in less effective products with more side effects. In addition, pharmaceutical companies require that new products generate at least 100 million U.S. dollars in the first year to justify the cost of development. These factors were not viable reasons to Dr. Chang for discarding potentially useful products. He realized the tremendous benefit of natural products created, refined, and substantiated through a scientific pharmaceutical approach.

Dr. Chang eventually left the pharmaceutical industry to pursue his vision of delivering natural nutraceutical products that could be scientifically proven to change people’s lives. His vision attracted the business expertise needed to build a successful company. On October 18, 1998, Pharmanex was acquired by Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS), a leading direct sales company.

With one of the premier distribution channels in the world, Pharmanex is enjoying a major global expansion—creating an exciting opportunity to further impact the masses in the global preventative healthcare markets.