ASEA was founded by Verdis Norton and Tyler Norton. The current management consists of Charles F. Funke as the CEO and Jarom Webb as the President, The company officially launched in 2009. Currently, it has approximately 30,000 active associates. In 2013, ASEA, LLC moved its operations to a 33,000 square foot production facility which produces 15,000 cases of ASEA a week.
Product
ASEA’s first product was a liquid supplement initially also named ASEA, and currently known as ASEA Redox Supplement. In 2014, RENU 28, a skin revitalization gel product, was added to its product lineup. While the primary ingredients created in the original MDI-P solution are found in the current ASEA Redox Supplement and RENU 28 products, the processes and outputs differ. All prior patents from the previous company have expired. New patents that cover the proprietary composition and production processes used to produce ASEA and RENU 28 have been filed and issued. Harriet Hall, a retired physician who warns consumers about alternative medicine and quackery, has criticized product claims and the lack of transparency, noting that "the label lists the ingredients as salt and water." The ASEA team tried to get her to delete her criticisms. In 2015, ASEA partnered with BioAgilytix Labs to work in unison with their internal product teams to monitor the quality of the manufacturing process and give the scientific validity of the nature of the products. Specializing in biomarker testing, BioAfilytix validates the existence of reactive oxygen in the product. To maintain the BioAgilytix certification, ASEA provides a weekly product sampling for a scientific assay to substantiate the existence of reactive oxygen molecules in ASEA redox products and for product quality. In 2016, ASEA announced the launch of a new skincare line, RENU Advanced, consisting of four products against anti-aging.
History
ASEA is based on technology developed and patented by Medical Discoveries, Inc, a publicly traded company. MDI-P was a clear, colorless liquid generated by electrolysis of a sterile saline. It contained highly reactive chlorine and oxygen species, including HOCl, OCl−, Cl−, Cl2, and O3. It was tested for its microbicidal properties and was found effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella pneumophila, and Candida albicans and is considered to be a very fast-acting, broad-spectrum microbicidal solution. While the primary ingredients created in the original MDI-P solution are found in the current ASEA Redox Supplement and RENU 28 products, the processes and outputs differ. All prior patents from the previous company have expired. New patents that cover the proprietary composition and production processes used to produce ASEA and RENU 28 have been filed and issued. MDI went up for sale in 2007, and Verdis Norton, who sat on the board at the time, decided to gather other investors and purchase the technology. They made the decision to create a consumable product in a liquid form that could be classified as a supplement. Norton and his partners funded research to differentiate the new product from its pharmaceutical-grade predecessor into something consumable, believing that recreating redox signaling molecules outside the human body and producing them in a consumable product would optimize cellular function and overall health and wellness. Under the company name of ASEA, they began selling the product in 2009 with an official launch in 2010. Currently, ASEA has approximately 30,000 active associates. In 2013, ASEA, LLC moved its manufacturing operations to a 33,000 square-foot production facility, which is FDA registered, NSF certified, and GMP compliant and produces 15,000 cases of ASEA Redox Supplement per week. In May 2016, ASEA launched a new skincare line, RENU Advanced. With four products bundled as a skincare system, RENU Advanced is formulated for anti-aging and is based on ASEA's flagship technology of redox signaling.
Assessing effectiveness
A double blinded and placebo controlled study of 20 participants was performed to assess the effectiveness of cyclists completing time trials. The abstract found that "ASEA did not improve TT performance". ASEA has funded a study completed by Tauret Labs in which it completed a double blinded and placebo controlled study on 60 participants it found that "Additional analysis did identify at least 5 genes that may have interesting differential expression in the test group and were not significant in placebo or control groups" however due to the small sample size and short length of the study it was noted "Confirmation of these findings may be further substantiated by a longer study time with larger cohorts of participants." Physician Harriet Hall has reviewed the scientific literature related to the assessment of ASEA as a dietary supplement, noting that there is no acceptable published evidence to confirm that it has any health benefits in humans. The conclusions of Harriet Hall were supported by Science Based Medicine. Similar conclusions were drawn by "Does It Really Work".
Legal issues
its press release on 10 March 2014, the Italian Competition Authority sanctioned 3 companies "for unfair business practices". One of them was ASEA Italy which was fined €150,000. According to the Antitrust case, "consumers are proposed to purchase products through mechanisms aimed in reality at recruiting other sellers who are asked for an initial contribution or a subscription to a programme of personal purchases... It is a distributive mechanism considered incorrect by the Consumer Code for which the consumer cannot make a contribution in exchange for the opportunity to receive compensation that is derived primarily from the introduction of other consumers into the scheme rather than from the sale or consumption of products." It alleged that the position of Asea Italy is further aggravated by the fact that the company has attributed to their products curative properties that are not adequately substantiated and certified.
