Guest guest Posted August 21, 2002 Report Share Posted August 21, 2002 Note: It is the format to mark all the posts concerning the more " social " issues of enzymes and autism that have evolved over the past months with " ENZY " . Please feel free to go to another post if you are not interested in this topic. Following is an update to the Complaint against ARI for their libelous posts, publications, and information dissemination concerning myself, an individual parent. There is a letter by my lawyer followed by 15 attachments. There is value in these attachments apart from the Complaint because they resolve a few issues that have been under debate. Copies of the original documents, showing letterheads and signatures, are located in the Files section as .pdf: /files/Complaint- Update.pdf Because accessing a .pdf is not always possible, the text only of the documents follows and is also located in the Files: /files/Complaint-Update . >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> LAW OFFICES BURKE, WILLIAMS & SORENSEN, LLP 611 WEST SIXTH STREET, SUITE 2500 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90017-3102 Tel: (213) 236-0600 Fax: (213) 236-2700 www.bwslaw.com August 20, 2002 B. Sheppard Mullin et al. 501 West Broadway 19th Floor San Deigo, CA 92101-3598 Marc D. Adelman One America Plaza 600 West Broadway 7th Floor San Diego, CA 92101 Re: DeFelice v. Bernard Rimland et al/ San Diego Superior Court Case No: IC 791230 Dear Gentlemen: As you know, I represent DeFelice in the above-referenced action, a suit that is of apparent widespread interest to the autism community, as evidenced by the amount of internet postings and other communications focusing on this dispute. Subsequent to the filing of Ms. DeFelice's Complaint, I have been contacted by a large number of people from around the country offering information, some reliable and some not, in support of my client's position; unfortunately, some very credible information relating to your clients' conduct is quite disturbing and reflects conduct much more serious, and of a larger scope, than the relatively narrow focus of the lawsuit. I have attached some of these documents to show that I am not just " blowing smoke. " California Rule of Professional Conduct 5-100 (A) states: " A member shall not threaten to present criminal, administrative, or disciplinary charges to obtain an advantage in a civil dispute. " California Rule of Professional Conduct 3-700 ( states that a lawyer must withdraw from a case if, inter alia: " (2) The member knows or should know that continued employment will result in these Rules or the State Bar Act. " Because we now have information, including the attached documents, that relate your clients to potential tax evasion/income reporting issues, violation of Federal Trade Commission regulations, and patent validity matters, we have concluded that such items should be dealt with by the appropriate governmental agencies and not by us in this lawsuit. To that end, CRPC 3-700 and 5-100 mandate that we withdraw from representing Ms. DeFelice in this action. In discussing the ramifications of this situation with my client, she has three basic options: (1) represent herself pro per, (2) find another attorney to substitute into this case, or (3) dismiss without prejudice, thereby preserving her right to refile within the 1 year limitations period. Because Ms. DeFelice resides in Iowa and is not a lawyer, and because Ms. DeFelice may not be able to find alternate counsel in time to adequately meet pending court deadlines, my client rejected Options 1 and 2; accordingly, please find attached the Entry Of Voluntary Dismissal terminating this case without prejudice. If Ms. DeFelice chooses to refile later, you will certainly be made aware of such circumstance. Please note that Ms. DeFelice's choice to dismiss this suit at this time should not be taken as a sign that she has no case; in fact, the attached documents, especially the ones showing that Dr. Rimland was publicly endorsing SerenAid for compensation while privately expressing his severe misgivings about the product, fully support many of the allegations in Ms. DeFelice's Complaint. 's decision to dismiss the suit at this time is a result of my inability to represent her, not the merits of her case. Very truly yours, STEPHEN R. ONSTOT OF BURKE, WILLIAMS & SORENSEN, LLP >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 1 Memo From : Dr. Jon Pangborn (Bionostics) Dr. Bernie Rimland (Autism Research Institute); Ms. Farr (Klaire Laboratories); Ilene Buchholz (Klaire Labs); Gene Lundstrom (Klaire Labs, Anabolic). Date: July 20, 1998 Subject: PEPTIDASE ENZYME DEVELOPMENT Over the past two years we have endeavored to develop a digestive peptidase enzyme that would be specifically targeted at casomorphins and gluteomorphin dietary peptides. These opiate-acting dietary peptides are known to be present at significant levels in blood and urine of autistic individuals per clinical studies of Dr. Karl Reichelt and others. After a year of searching for safe, food-grade proteins with essentially 100% peptidase activity, we located such a product in Quebec at ABIASA Biotech, a small company run by Dr. G. Arora, whose Ph.D. is in enzymology and peptidase chemistry. Specifications on their peptidase were presented at the 1997 DAN! meeting in San Diego. The peptidase must have an enteric coating to protect it from stomach acid and to then allow it to become active in the small intestine. Supporting nutrients would be combined with the peptidase: zinc as citrate, and two amino acids: L-lysine and L- arginine. The dosage of the peptidase itself is set at 6500 units per capsule. Anabolic Laboratories (Gene Lundstrom) was to manufacture a trial batch of about 20,000 capsules. Because tablets may not be swallowed by young children and because capsules would be opened and their contents mixed with food, we opted for capsules. However, capsules cannot be enterically coated. Therefore, the plan was to use calcium sulfate particles as a nucleus, coat with peptidase, zinc, lysine and arginine, and to hold the layers together with shellac. The resulting beads would then be enteric coated. The small, coated beads could then be loaded into gelatin capsules (#1 or #0). (Analysis for certification of content could be done on recovered zinc.) Unfortunately, Gene Lundstrom now reports that Anabolic Labs will not be able to complete the manufacturing of the test batch. They did two trial runs and managed a 50% recovery using a different digestive enzyme as a test substance. However, manpower and company commitments to their regular business prevents them from continuing with this project, which they were kind enough to pursue at no charge. The present status is that we cannot move further without rather sophisticated manufacturing. This will cost money, and Bionostics (Jon Pangborn) and Klaire Labs ( Farr) have no more funds for this project. The Autism Research Institute has also provided modest funding; further funding needs could be significant. Additionally, we now have the problem of locating a manufacturer with the requisite capabilities. I welcome any suggestions or ideas. However, we are, at this point, stalled on this project. Sincerely, Jon B. Pangborn, Ph.D. Bionostics, Inc. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 2 Letter To Randall Wilkinson, M.D. (became President of Klaire Labs) From Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) Date July 22, 1999 Dear Randy, I enjoyed our conversation yesterday, and look forward to working with you. As you probably know, the peptidase enzyme project was started by Jon Pangborn and myself 4 or 5 years ago, with this Institute financing some of Jon's efforts to search for manufacturers in the U.S., Asia and elsewhere who might be making the kinds of enzyme needed. Clare learned about it, from Jon, I think, and wanted to have Klaire Labs enter the picture as a partner, which was fine with Jon and me. Anyway, I phoned Jon last might to discuss the situation, and faxed along to him the raw data that I also sent to you, showing that the results are a long way from spectacular, thus far. I wanted to know what he thought of my suggestion that we undertake phase 2 of the trial, using the same people who participated in the first phase, but this time with a double or triple dose of the enzyme. Jon thought that would be a good idea, although he was much more in favor of doubling the dose, rather than tripling it. Jon told me something that I didn't know, but that you may be aware of: Jon did not think that the peptidase products would do the job alone, but that it should be part of a larger, more complete package. The package would consist of 4 components: 1. the peptidase enzyme 2. Lactobacillus Gg based on a Finnish study 3. a Klaire Lab pro-biotic product containing 4 components " Vital- Immune Biotics " 4. the amino acids glutamine 500+mg/day, arginine 500mg/day and lysine 500mg/day Jon said that during one of the phone conferences Dr. Houston had indicated that he thought that the peptidase enzyme was sufficiently strong to do the job by itself, whereas Jon argued in favor of the above 4-part program. The physicians who were part of that conversation voted in favor of Houston's idea, which was okay with Jon, but he still thinks that the more comprehensive approach outlined above would be more likely to be effective, even though it is not as convenient to administer. Jon made it clear that he has a great deal of respect for Dr. Houston's knowledge and competence, but he felt that the problem in autism was not quite as simple as replacing missing enzymes, but instead involved healing the leaky gut with glutamine, tying up the arabinose with arginine and lysine, etc., so the treatment, he feels, should be a bit more complex than just giving the enzymes. I am dictating this late Tuesday night. I will look forward to our conference call Wednesday at 1:30. Sincerely, Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 3 Letter To Randal Wilkinson, M.D. (President of Klaire Labs) From Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) Date September 23, 1999 Dear Randy, A friend has just faxed to me a single page of what appears to be an AAEM newsletter. The bottom half of the page is taken up with a notice about an " AAEM Special Event " in which I will reportedly be a participant. The event is a breakfast meeting on the morning of Sunday, October 10th, at which I, Waickman and Devin Houston will " discuss the very promising results of a recent clinical trial using a Multi-Enzyme Peptidase formula with autistic children. " I find this announcement distressing for several reasons: I was not informed about this breakfast meeting. I had heard several months ago that there might be a Sunday morning meeting at which the autism conference speakers would be available for a question and answer session, or something of the sort, but when I asked about this of the people at the AAEM office, they said that such a meeting was not scheduled, so I made my airline reservations accordingly. Right now I am scheduled to leave Spokane at 8:30 a.m., which would preclude my participation unless I were to reschedule my flights, which my not be feasible. A more serious concern is the claim in the announcement that " the results of a recent clinical trial " of the peptidase formula were " very promising. " I certainly have never said that. I would not characterize the results of the first, low-dose, trial as being " very promising, " and unless some spectacular data have been collected in the meantime (I have not seen the data from the second phase, since they are being sent directly to Ilene), I certainly would not want to be represented as saying that the results were very promising. I hope that the announcement will get very limited distribution. This is a particularly bad time for me to be quoted as saying something is very promising in the absence of good evidence. I am enclosing a copy of the editorial from the next issue of our newsletter, which will be mailed out tomorrow, September 24th, to about 10,000 subscribers and then placed on the internet. As you can see from the editorial (I have circled several places) there is a lot of fighting going on now in the autism world about the scientific status of a number of interventions that I have been supporting, including megavitamin therapy and the gluten/casein-free diet. As you can see, I am arguing strongly that these interventions have been scientifically proven and that there are a number of published studies which demonstrate their efficacy. The last thing I need at this stage of the game is for me to be misquoted as saying that something is promising, when there are only very weak, uncontrolled clinical trials underway. If there is any way to limit the circulation of the announcement, please do so. Very sincerely, Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. P.S. I can talk about the peptidase during my several Saturday afternoon talks and panel presentation. (I just called Bobbie Hinshaw – fewer than 50 registrants for Saturday.). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 4 Fax To Randal Wilkinson, M.D. (Klaire), cc: Jim s (Klaire) From Ilene Buchholz (Klaire) Date October 25, 1999 RE: Autism Pilot Study Issues Randy, I spoke with Dr. Bernie Rimland this morning regarding sending out correspondence to the participating families involved with the Multi- Enzyme Pilot Study. Additionally I told him that we would be faxing him the data results of the Phase II study for his review. He will be leaving to go out of town on Wednesday but will review this information before he leaves. Bernie is interested in any decision that you and Jim have made in relationship to compensating the Autism Research Institute with a percentage of the SerenAid sales. Bernie will be attending several more Autism meetings in the next two weeks. Additionally he has been asked to write an article for a national magazine on the treatments of autism. If he knows that there is an arrangement with Klaire Labs then he will provide disclosure that the foundation is benefiting from endorsing Klaire products. If possible Bernie would appreciate a call or fax before he leaves town so that he can feel free to express his connection with Klaire Laboratories. Would you have an opportunity to give him a call at (619) 281-7165 or fax him at (619) 563-6840 by the early afternoon on Tuesday 26th? (He will be flying out on Wednesday morning the 27th). The issue of processing the Urinary Polypeptides came up and Bernie suggested that we consider having the families directly ship the urine specimens to the Repligen Lab where Dr. Herlihy is CEO. I told Bernie that I believe that you had talked with Dr. Herlihy and that at this time it was best to ship specimens to Coeur d'Alene. Because the Multi-Enzyme Pilot Study is co-sponsored by Klaire Labs and the Autism Research Institute I faxed Bernie a copy, of the proposed correspondence, for his editing and review. Attached please find the first draft of this information. If you have any suggestions, changes or corrections, to this material, please let me know. I am hoping to get this follow-up material out by Wednesday of this week since I will be leaving Thursday AM for the ACAM meetings. Many thanks! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 5 Letter To (became President/CEO Klaire Labs) From Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) Date April 4, 2000 Subject: SerenAid: Joint Project of Autism Research Institute and Klaire Laboratories As you no doubt are aware, the Autism Research Institute has funded the research project resulting in the development of SerenAid, for several years, prior to Klaire Laboratories joining the project as a co-sponsor. Additionally, the Autism Research Institute has been involved in the phase one and phase two clinical trials of SerenAid. I have been keeping the ARI Board of Directors apprised of developments involving SerenAid over the past few years, and I would like to bring them up to date at our forthcoming Board meeting in May. They will of course be particularly interested in the revenue stream from the sales of SerenAid, since I have told them over the years, that we do expect our investment in the product to bring about some significant returns, both in the health and welfare of autistic children, and to the treasury of the Autism Research Institute. Our agreement with Klaire Laboratories was that we would receive 3% of the net profits, which I understand to mean 3% of the difference between the price at which each unit is sold and the price paid for that unit by Klaire Labs. (As you very probably know, Jon Pangborn has donated his part of the profits from the sale of SerenAid to ARI, and thus his share is included in our 3% portion.) I would like to be able to provide our Board members with the following information: 1. Date at which the sale of SerenAid was initiated (presumably this would be soon after the October 3, 1999 date at which the availability of SerenAid was announced at our DAN! Conference in New Jersey). 2. The number of units sold since that time, and the net profit upon which our 3% share is based. 3. The schedule (monthly, quarterly, etc.) upon which payments to ARI will be made. Thank you for your cooperation with this request. I look forward to hearing from you. Cordially, Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. P.S. I am leaving here am to DC (to testify at Congressional hearings on autism) will be back in after Monday 10th. BR. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 6 Letter To (President/CEO Klaire) From Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) Date April 11, 2000 Dear , I enjoyed our phone conversation Monday and am looking forward to our lunch together on Tuesday, the 25th. I am sending along by mail another copy of the map that I faxed to you, since faxes are often unclear, and thus the map may be a bit confusing. I have been mentally reviewing our conversation with regard to the royalty payments to ARI for the sale of SerenAid. You mentioned that the amount of profit thus far from the sale of SerenAid was a bit unclear, because of such issues as lawyer's fees, etc. During our discussions last year on the payment of royalties to ARI, a number of different possible formulas were considered, most of them involving a considerably higher royalty figure than the 3% that was finally agreed upon. We agreed to the rather low 3% figure because calculating the royalty to be paid was very simple, involving only 3 values (the number of units sold times the price per unit minus the direct cost to Klaire Laboratories of the product itself). The other formulas were rejected because they required making subjective judgments as to what proportion of such things as attorney's fees, floor space, utility bills, etc. were chargeable to the sale of SerenAid. So, under the circumstances, I would greatly appreciate being supplied with the information requested at the end of my letter to you of April 4th. Very cordially, Bernard Rimland. Ph.D. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 7 Letter To (President/CEO Klaire) From Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) Date April 24, 2000 Dear , Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your vacation. I'm looking forward to our lunch tomorrow. As you know, SerenAid was placed on the market after the positive results of the first joint ARI-Klaire Laboratories SerenAid study was announced at the ARI conference in October, 1999. It had been agreed that the data for Study 1 would be collected from the parents and the physician participants by ARI, with copies sent to Klaire Laboratories; the data for Study 2 would be collected by Klaire Laboratories, with copies sent to ARI. Last week, Matt, the ARI employee who has been coordinating the ARI data collection and analysis, called his counterpart at Klaire Laboratories, Marcella, to ask about the status of the data being collected by Klaire Laboratories. He was surprised to learn, as I was, that Marcella had left. We were surprised to find that she had left without sending us the data that had already been collected, and without even telling us the status of the project nor of her departure. Klaire Laboratories, ARI, and the physicians involved in the project have devoted a great deal of time and effort to the planning and execution of Study 2, and the data represent an invaluable resource. I certainly hope that the study is not veering off track. Needless to say, I am very concerned about this. I would greatly appreciate your bringing with you a diskette of the data Marcella had entered prior to her departure, as well as the hard copies of the SerenAid Evaluation Questionnaires that had been mailed to Klaire Laboratories. Very cordially, Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 8 Letter To Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) From (Klaire) Date April 25, 2000 Dear Dr. Rimland: Thanks so much for the generosity of your time today sharing lunch with me. I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know you and your work with the Autism Research Institute a little better. As a follow-up to one of today's points of conversation, just wanted to give you an update regarding the royalty agreement with Farr, the previous owner of Klaire Laboratories. I spoke with and she believes that the agreement was verbal and not a written contractual agreement. It is not clear if the current owner of Klaire Laboratories was aware of this arrangement at the time of the sale. recalls that you were going to discuss this with Randy during a meeting at her home but the facts are pretty sketchy as to whether or not this was recognized as a transferable obligation at the time of the Corporation sales transaction. I encourage you to review your files and in the event you find a written agreement, I would be happy to review it with you. I have also forwarded a memorandum to the Executive Committee of Klaire Laboratories with a synopsis of our meeting and encouraged both and the Executive Committee to review this issue. In the absence of a written agreement, I cannot release information or funds to the Autism Research Institute for prior sales of SerenAid. HOWEVER, as we discussed today, I am more than willing to look at a promising agreement for both parties on the future marketing and sales of this product. Since time is of the essence, I suggest we meet again soon to brainstorm on what an acceptable arrangement would be. Please advise as to when you would be available and we can set something up before your next board meeting mid-May. Again, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule today. I hope your phone conversation with " new " friends in Washington went well. Talk to you soon. Sincerely, President/CEO >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 9 Memorandum To Cary Ferguson (Klaire) From (Klaire) Date April 25, 2000 Subject: Royalty payments to the Autism Research Institute I met with Bernard Rimland, the Director of the Autism Research Institute to discuss several issues regarding Klaire Laboratories, SerenAid, and the royalty payments that they have requested to receive. Apparently, it was Bernie's understanding that there was a contractual agreement (most likely verbal) between Klaire Laboratories and the Autism Research Institute that they would receive a 3% royalty on the sale of the enzyme product developed for use in the digestion of protein peptides found in wheat and diary. There has been a linked association to the presence of these undigested proteins and autistic behaviors. This agreement dates back to Farr's ownership of Klaire Laboratories and the development work on the end result product, SerenAid. claims that even though this was a 'gentleman's agreement " and not in writing, that Randy and Jim were aware of this commitment when the business was transferred in the sale and a commitment was made on the part of the new ownership to honor this royalty. The fingers point to Dr. Wilkinson as the agreeing owner and I have explained to and Bernie that I am not in a position to honor any verbal commitments made by Randy since he is no longer a part of Klaire Laboratories. No to pass the buck, but in my opinion, since there is not a written contractual agreement in place, I as the new President am not willing to pay Dr. Rimland a royalty on any past sales of SerenAid. I have however offered to review with Dr. Rimland and the Research Institute their proposal for marketing and promotional assistance for future sales of the product and a level of compensation they are willing to accept for their assistance. Bernie and I plan to meet again prior to May 15. At this point, I have left it with Dr. Rimland to discuss his verbal agreement with and find out how the transfer was handled during the sale. has been advised that she should discuss this with the Executive Committee if she believes this was clearly stated as transferable obligations at the time of the sale. Call me with questions. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 10 Fax To Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) From (President/CEO Klaire) Date June 29, 2000 RE: Possible Meeting Bernie, I know you have been extremely busy in your travels. Hopefully, you now have some time available in your schedule for us to meet. Points of discussion are: 1. Putting together a financial grant request for the completion of the SerenAid trial. We need to get our approximate cost and plan together to submit for funding. 2. An agreement as to how Klaire Laboratories can benefit ARI with financial contributions as a direct result of support for SerenAid. 3. The presentation of SerenAid study at DAN meeting. I have Jon Pangborn's commitment that if we can have the compilation complete, we will be on the podium to present it. Jon suggested that since he is presenting on other findings that possibly Dr. Houston or one of the medical doctors in the study should present the findings. 4. The current issue of Dr. Shaw's claims against gelatin as an inhibitor of DPP IV enzyme activity. My concern about his presentation at the Irvine conference is the feedback we've had from parents who now think they need to empty out gelatin capsule content or buy products in Vegi-Caps (at a higher price). We have many others in the scientific community looking into Dr. Shaw's scientific discovery. I do not want these already financially challenged parents to go to additional expense unnecessarily. Please call and let me know what opening your schedule has. I'm out on vacation next week but can be reached by cell phone at 858-395- 7880. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 11 Letter To (President/CEO Klaire Labs) From Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institue) Date July 7, 2000 Dear , Time is really running out! During the past several months I have written to you several times, as well as discussed with you personally, the fact that Klaire Laboratories has in its possession the data – owned jointly by this Institute and by Klaire Laboratories – for phase II of the SerenAde study, and that we must have the data if we are to analyze it in time for Jon Pangborn to include it in his presentation at our Defeat Autism Now! conference in September. Jon will be discussing several topics during his presentation at our DAN! conference, and one of those topics was supposed to be an update of the project in the development of peptidase digestive enzymes for use in autistic children. It takes time to analyze data. We must have the data delivered to the Autism Research Institute in the very near future, say on or about July 12th, if we are going to be able to analyze it in time for Jon to include it as part of his presentation at the DAN! conference. The last families reporting – the stragglers – should have reported no later than March 15th, according to our schedule. As I noted in earlier correspondence, the arrangement was that the reports for phase I would be mailed to the Autism Research Institute and copies would be made to be forwarded to Klaire Laboratories. Now it is up to Klaire Laboratories to keep its part of the bargain. We must be sent the originals, or copies, of all of the data for phase II of the study within the next week. I asked Ilene, with whom we were working closely on this project about the disposition of the data, and she said that when she left Klaire Laboratories all the reports were in a cardboard carton sitting on, or next to, her desk. I await the receipt of the data. Very sincerely, Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. CC: Jon Pangborn, Devin Houston >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 12 Letter To Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) From (President/CEO Klaire Labs) Date July 10, 2000 Dear Dr. Rimland: Thank you for your letter dated July 7th as well as discussion today on the contents. I would like nothing more than to draw conclusions as to the success of the SerenAid trial and have data for Dr. Pangborn to present at the upcoming DAN conference. As we have discussed previously, all the written or paper documents that were present in our office at the time of my arrival as the new President of Klaire has been photocopied, and sent to the Autism Research Institute per your request. I had no prior knowledge that some of these materials were actually relating to the first phase of the trial and had actually been provided by ARI. Regarding what is available on a computer database, I personally reviewed the computer used by Marcella Snyder and did find limited information and will be more than happy to share that with Matt for his review. It is probably best to have him come here so we can also review the paper files. In looking at the organization of the study responses and the missing reports from families involved in the study, I have asked Dr. Houston to start on the phone interviewing each participant family/caregiver to get a synopsis of their use of SerenAid. Many of these kids are still on the product, which will give us some sense of safety and effectiveness with long-tern use. We anticipate that he should complete this by the end of this week. I would like to take that approach an additional step further by reviewing the individuals still on SerenAid and selecting 20-25 to have further clinical observation by their physician as well as urinary testing for peptide levels. Recognizing that this will take time, in my opinion, we have two choices: 1. We try to compile something with the few surveys we have back working with the most complete files knowing that this is probably not a good sampling. 2. We move ahead quickly to talk to each family and pursue additional information as suggested above. I have funding that could be used to pay for the testing and doctor's evaluation available. Please let me reiterate that I was not personally involved in the establishment of the responsibilities as it relates to the Phase II portion of the study. At that point, I worked with Klaire Laboratories in a product development role from a vendor viewpoint. Since that time, many dynamics have changed at Klaire and it is only within my power to move forward on these projects and like issues. It is my desire to continue to work in concert with you and the Autism Research Institute. As one who was actively involved in the formulation team for SerenAid, I have a commitment to this project on a personal level as well as a professional loyalty. Additionally, it is my request that Ilene Buchholz not be contacted in the future regarding this or any other question regarding SerenAid. She has made the professional decision to join forces with a competitor who is developing their own enzyme offering and to involve her further would breach confidentiality with Klaire Laboratories. As a side note, I did offer to partner with Dave Humphreys and Kirkman Labs on an enzyme product (combining the best of both our discoveries) and give him retail distribution. He rejected my offer and has chosen to go alone with their own development. As always, I am available to meet with you to discuss solutions further. We would like nothing more than to be a part of DAN!2000 and answer the parent/physician questions that have surfaced for SerenAid since the last meeting. Best regards, President/CEO >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 13 Letter To Jim s (owner Klaire), c/o Cary Ferguson (accountant, Board of Directors, Klaire), cc: (President/CEO Klaire) From Bernard Rimland (Autism Research Institute) Date October 9, 2000 Subject Royalties on the sale of the SerenAid multiple-enzyme product The idea of either finding or developing a multiple-enzyme product that would assist autistic children and others unable to properly digest casein and gluten in their food was conceived by Jon Pangborn and me at the first Defeat Autism Now! Think Tank, held in Dallas in January, 1995. I told Jon that the Autism Research Institute would support his efforts to discover such a product, if one existed, or to develop such a product, if there was none in existence, and he undertook that task. The Autism Research Institute invested thousands of dollars in this effort, until Farr, then president of Klaire Laboratories, heard of our endeavor and offered to help sustain the search, with the understanding that she would be allowed to market the product once it became available. After several years of effort, the product now being sold as SerenAid became available and was publicly announced by Jon at our Defeat Autism Now! conference in Cherry Hill New Jersey in October, 1998. I subsequently described the SerenAid product and told over 10,000 families of autistic children, and professionals, about it in our year-end letter in December, 1998. I also mentioned SerenAid in a number of lectures and articles in national magazines, and radio talk shows, subsequent to the original announcement. Further, for a number of months prior to the October, 1998 announcement of SerenAid, and for a number of months subsequent to the announcement, the Autism Research Institute participated intensively in a research project designed to evaluate both the positive and negative effects of SerenAid on a sample of over 60 autistic children derived from the practices of a dozen physicians. This effort involved a great deal of professional time, clerical and statistical time, telephone conferencing, report writing, etc. All in all, a costly investment on our part. Therefore, not only the development, but almost all of the publicity that it has received has been the results of the efforts of the Autism Research Institute. After discussion with Klaire and Jon, it was agreed that the Autism Research Institute's investment in SerenAid would be compensated by a 3% royalty, based on the gross profit. This agreement was acknowledged by Randy Wilkinson, in a phone call to me on October 24, 1998. I have attempted on several occasions to induce Klaire Laboratories to pay the royalties due to the Autism Research Institute, but insists that she cannot do so, because 1. " There is nothing in writing " ; 2. She does not have the authority to do so, and 3. Klaire Laboratories can not afford to pay us. In California as in most states, there is no need for a contract to be in writing unless the parties to the contract disagree on the contract's terms. There is no such disagreement in the present instance. In view of the foregoing, I am turning to you with the request that the agreement be acknowledged and honored and that royalties owed to this Institute for past and future sales of the SerenAid be paid in a prompt and orderly manner. I await your reply. Very sincerely, Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. Cc: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 14 Email To (Klaire) From Cary Ferguson (accountant, on Board of Directors, Klaire) Date October 23, 2000 Subject: Rimland Letter Do not sent the letter to Rimland and the Board. I have looked over all of the information you sent me as well as some early memos I have from Randy. In fact it was Randy who clarified with Dr. Rimland that the royalty would be based on 3% of gross margin, not 3% of gross as had promised. Based on what I have heard and reviewed I can't see any reason to continue this battle of wills between you and Dr. Rimland. For $300 month I want Dr. Rimland to consider Klaire his friend – not his enemy. Wouldn't it have been better to have Bernie at your cocktail party rather than out trying to sabotage it. We don't need you to send a letter to his Board causing more conflict just because he is asking for a contribution that was promised by and reinforced by Randy. Back in April, your letter to Dr. Rimland stated that you say no reason to pay a royalty but you would present it to the board. This is the first time we have had a chance to review all of the info and make a decision. Since I control 2 of the 3 votes I have resolved this issue so you can concentrate your efforts on the show in Salt Lake this week. I have sent the Autism Research Board a check for $3,900 representing the sales for the last year. I think this is money well spent. We were paying Sherie Stoker $1500 a month for nothing. Now we need to tear down the walls that have been build between you and Bernie and work toward getting him to include us in his newsletter and referring our products to the readers of it. Cary >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATTACHMENT 15 Email To Jim (s, owner Klaire) From Date October 25, 2000 Subject: FW: Rimland Letter Importance: High Jim, we need to talk immediately. Cary is in clear violation of my contract and making decisions that effect me in a fiduciary manner which are against my direct instructions. I cannot have him running rampant around my decisions. According to our patent attorney…this latest Cary decision could jeopardize our Patent claim. By submission to Dr. Rimland's request, we imply prior discovery to our patent filing. We must have a conference call with him immediately. We are also in FTC violation by paying a not-for-profit organization basically under the table. Cary is also now calling himself the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Klaire Labs. Have you had a board meeting without my attendance? , President/CEO >>>>>>>> Email To Cary Ferguson, cc Jim s (Klaire) From (Klaire) Date October 23, 2000 Subject: RE: Rimland Letter Importance: High Cary, it is very distressing to me that you would have made such a decision and action without first discussing this issue with me. My proposal had not been acted on (I did not send the letter or respond to Dr. Rimland's request) without first discussing it with you. As the President/CEO of Klaire Laboratories and the one who participates in the industry and understands the political and personality dynamics involved, I do not believe you were the one best qualified to make this decision. We will now need to discuss how we deal with the fall out of your action. This issue will not go away with a modest $300 per month. You have now put us in the bidding wars with competitors known and those to come. I was positioning our stand on a basis of ethics which will always be in our best interest and would keep our name clean in a very personal, family oriented autism community. This royalty payment must now be reflected in the asset/liability of SerenAid to any potential buyer of Klaire or the SerenAid product. You have set a precedence that will go with the product from this point on! If the patent is granted and the full potential of SerenAid is explored…do you think the ARI will settle for $300 per month? They will not easily give up the claim that you have now granted them and will fight to continue it with any future owner (as they have with us). More troubling is your comment that you control 2/3 of the votes. We need to have clarification from Jim on this point and agreement will need to be met between Jim and myself as the remaining committee members of my contract. In a memo from Jim dated February 3, Jim informed me that he had asked you to take Randy's position. You later revealed a memo from Jim to you dated the same day asking you to take Jim and Randy's role. This document was not presented to me. It would lead one to believe that Jim intended to keep this between you and himself. As we discussed in our meeting on Monday, having you step in and contradict my leadership of this company will render me powerless in the eyes of this industry and cripple me in my ability to accomplish this role as well as dilute the image of who is really running this company. I request that we have a meeting immediately to clarify the roles of management authority within this organization. , President/CEO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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