vitamin products were a cure for HIV/AIDS, adding that Rath's only involvement in the affair was the donation of vitamins to the South African National Civics Organisation. TAC and SAMA prevailed in court over Rath and the Medicines Control Council on unauthorised trials and advertising of Rath's nutrients as a replacement therapy for HIV. In September 2008 Rath was ordered to pay court costs in an unsuccessful libel action against The Guardian (UK) after the paper reported on his foundation's unauthorised drug trials in South Africa. Efficacy and marketing claims SKAK In 2004 the Swiss Study Group for Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer (SKAK), an independent group that evaluates alternative medical treatments, examined Rath's vitamin preparations and marketing claims. SKAK reported that it "found no proof that the vitamin preparations of Dr. Matthias Rath have any effect on human cancer" and "advise[s] against their use in cancer prevention and treatment while recommending a diet rich in fruit and vegetables." SKAK's report specifically criticised Rath for: Making sweeping, unsubstantiated claims of efficacy. Rath has claimed that his vitamin treatments can cure all forms of cancer, as well as most infectious diseases, including AIDS. Citing anecdotal reports of success that could not be confirmed. In the case of one patient allegedly "cured" by Rath's methods, SKAK found that "it is not even certain from a medical perspective if cancer was present." Using a self-developed test of efficacy rather than widely accepted and verified tests and endpoints. SKAK's conclusion regarding Rath's vitamin formulations was: A cancer-curing effect has not been documented for any of these substances. Nor is there any proof that the preparations sold by Matthias Rath, some with high dosages, are useful in cancer prevention—leave alone curing cancer. Rath still owes proof regarding the correctness of his claims. Proof of effect cannot be provided by analogy with in vitro, animal or cell experiments. Because there is no proof for effect nor for the harmlessness of the preparations, SKAK advises against their use. Harvard multivitamin study Rath claimed that a Harvard School of Public Health study published in the New England Journal of Medicine validated claims that multivitamin supplementation slows the progression of HIV to AIDS. The study's authors released a statement condemning Rath's "irresponsible and misleading statements, as in our view they deliberately misinterpret findings from our studies to advocate against the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy." The authors felt that