Co. to Refund Millions for Cancer Claims (AP)

PHILADELPHIA - A supplement maker that wrongly claimed its shark-cartilage and other products had cancer-fighting benefits plans to refund customers millions of dollars.

Lane Labs USA-Inc. has tentatively agreed to return up to $8 million to customers who bought three products targeted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, company attorney Paul Fishman said Monday.

Last year, a federal judge agreed with an FDA request to ban the Allendale, N.J.-based company from selling the three products and allowed the agency to order customer restitution.

Supplement makers cannot claim their products can treat, prevent or cure specific diseases without approval from the FDA, which Lane Labs did not obtain.

The company lost its appeal Friday.

Lane Labs and founder Andrew Lane can no longer sell BeneFin, made from shark cartilage, as a treatment for cancer; SkinAnswer, a glycoalkaloid cream, as a treatment for skin cancer; and MGN-3, a rice-bran extract, as a treatment for cancer and HIV.

The products were sold in health-food stores and over the Internet.

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On the Net:

Lane Labs: http://www.lanelabs.com