JLife’s Sarah Nelson speaks to Leeds-born Stephen Mack about his entrepreneurial background and new natural heart health product, Perfect Vascular Natural.
What’s Perfect Vascular Natural and how did your involvement with it come about?
Perfect Vascular Natural is a new 100 per cent natural heart health supplement which has been shown in clinical use by cardiologists in the US to lower cholesterol in line with prescription medication including statins (around 30 per cent) but without any side effects.
I run a health and beauty business called Perfect Look & Health and I learned about the product when I was visiting family in the US. Last year, UK guidelines around statins changed, meaning that one in two people above 50 and one in three above 40 were now being prescribed statin medication to lower their cholesterol.
The statin debate has been raging in the media since due to their controversial nature regarding side effects and potential implications for health. When I learned that Vascular Natural was being endorsed by cardiologists who were using it successfully to treat their statin-intolerant patients, I knew immediately that it had endless potential.
When we brought the product over to the UK, we ensured it complied with all the regulatory bodies. We’re now setting up a full clinical trial which is set to begin in 2016. However, the product is and will continue to be a nutraceutical supplement.
Who is the product aimed at?
The product is aimed at anyone who suffers from elevated cholesterol but who can’t or won’t take a statin. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills one in two people in the UK and high cholesterol is a major risk factor for CVD. However, around 20 per cent of people can’t take statins due to side effects and there are thousands more who don’t want to take a statin for fear of side effects or simply not wanting to be taking a drug for the long-term.
What’s your professional background — have you always been entrepreneurial-minded?
Personally, I’ve never had a job – I’ve always worked for myself. You only get what you put in and that is how I work best.
My wife and I set up our natural health and beauty business 20 years ago due to feeling frustrated with the lack of high quality supplements out there that delivered real results. My wife had Crohn’s Disease and was told she would need to take steroids for the rest of her life. She cured herself through the use of aloe vera and good nutrition. We knew that there were thousands of people out there needing help with their health, where conventional prescription medication was not working.
What would you consider the highlight of your career to be thus far?
This project. Pulling together some of the world’s leading experts in multi fields and being the CEO of that company. And being told by professional people that the asset is worth over £300 million!
Being born and raised in Leeds, do you believe it to be an inspirational setting?
Yes, on the basis of the group of friends I made when I went to Morris Silman School. Most of us are still in contact either directly or indirectly. I loved growing up in a very close-knit community, where we were constantly in each other’s houses.
Does your Jewish culture play much of a role in your life?
You never forget your roots. But you also have to accept and mix with other ethnic groups and see people for what they are. You get good and bad in any culture.
What’s next for the company?
We are currently finalising the clinical trials and we intend to sell the asset to a multi-national company.
What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Follow your dream and accept you’re going to get a lot of people saying no before you get a yes. But also be prepared to drop a project that is going nowhere; for most entrepreneurs there’s always a new one around the corner. And make sure you work with a great PR company!
For more information, visit Vascularnatural.co.uk.