MET-Rx is an American brand of nutritional supplements originally produced by Met-Rx, Inc., a California company started by Scott Connelly, and sold several times since. The brand is best known for pioneering a new category of bodybuilding supplements known as meal replacement powders or MRPs. It was also involved in the androstenedione controversy in the late 1990s. Company Created by Scott Connelly, an anesthesiologist, the original MET-Rx product was intended to help prevent critically ill patients from losing muscle mass. Connelly's product was marketed in cooperation with Bill Phillips and the two began marketing to the bodybuilding and athletic communities, launching sales from the low hundreds of thousands to over $100 million annually. Connelly sold all interest in the company to Rexall Sundown for $108 million in 2000. MET-Rx is currently owned by NBTY. Products Original MET-Rx MRP The original MET-Rx meal replacement product came in two canisters—one labeled MET-Rx "base" and the other MET-Rx "plus". The instructions were to take two scoops of the plus and one scoop of the base and mix them in milk or water. As the product grew more popular, it was released as one formula combining the "base" and "plus" while removing the micellar casein component. As a result, the original METAMYOSYN blend is no longer used in MET-Rx products, as the current ingredients does not contain micellar casein. MET-Rx's meal replacements and protein powders contain a proprietary blend (known as METAMYOSYN) which consists of ingredients such as whey protein, calcium caseinate, egg albumen and milk protein isolate, combined with maltodextrin, vitamins, minerals and added amino acids. An NBC DateLine broadcast on October 6, 1996, entitled "Hype in a Bottle" investigated MET-Rx USA, Inc. The report revealed that MET-Rx had failed to provide published peer-reviewed documentation to substantiate its advertising claims. In October 1993 the "MET-Rx Substantiation Report" was provided to David Lightsey of the National Council Against Health Fraud. The report claimed association with Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. The report noted that several Dallas Cowboys players had gained an average of 2.5 to 3 pounds of lean body mass weekly for six weeks when using a MET-Rx product -- an obvious red flag. Cooper Clinic was contacted of possible misrepresentation. Cooper Clinic issued a cease and desist letter to Met-Rx from the Cooper Clinic president and medical director. In February 1995, the Penn State Sports Medicine Newsletter (3;6) published a report titled