Highway death raises questions on future of nutrition company

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005 | 9:29 a.m.

Dr. Ivan Perkovic, a guru of international nutritional products whose company last year had received a nearly half-million dollar sales tax break to move to Las Vegas, was killed Jan. 23 in a car accident near Baker, Calif. His age was not released.

In December, the Nevada Commission on Economic Development gave Perkovic's company, Interglobal Nutritional Products, sales tax and use tax abatement deferral incentives totalling $450,075 to relocate his firm and manufacturing plant from San Bernardino, Calif., to Las Vegas.

Attempts to reach a spokesman with the company Tuesday for status on the manufactuing plant that was to create more than 250 nutritional products for body, skin and hair in powder, liquid and tablet form were not successful.

Jerry Sandstrom, deputy director of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development, said Tuesday the agency was aware of Perkovic's death, but had not yet contacted the company regarding the status of the local project.

The company received no state tax dollars to relocate and under the agreement was required to spend money on things such as outfitting the manufacturing plant to receive the tax incentives. His proposal to the economic development commission was to make a capital investment of $6 million in Las Vegas.

At 433 S. Martin L. King Blvd., the company is to initially employee 32 workers earning greater than $8 per hour with medical insurance and eventually employ 100 people, according to documents filed by the company with the state economic development commission.

"Our decision to move to Nevada was heavily influenced by the economic incentives offered by the state as well as the strategic location of Las Vegas," Perkovic, president of the company, wrote in an undated letter to Robert Shriver, executive director of the economic development commission.

"We have concluded that our operating costs will be less and our employee satisfaction will be higher."

Perkovic, in his promotional material, said he had "degrees and high recognition in medicine, biology and agriculture." It also says he has been "associated for many years with leading European research centers for immunology, gerontology and geriatrics."

Perkovic did not say in documents filed with the state or on a Web site promoting his products where he received his medical degree and other degrees.

His products, created from vitamins, minerals and herbs, long sold under the Sunasu label. When Sunasu Products closed, Perkovic became co-owner of American Household Labs, which manufactured Sanasu supplements and other products. The company eventually became Nutramerica Corp.

In 1990, Perkovic founded Intraglobal International Products, Inc., in San Bernardino. Today, his products are sold not only in the United States, but also in Canada, Mexico, South America and some European nations.

His products include natural alternatives to the post-hysterectomy hormone therapy drug Premarin, which his company advertises as easing moodiness, night sweats, hot flashes and fatigue and increasing energy.

Perkovic's products also include nutritional supplements to ease irritability in menopausal women and women suffering from premenstrual syndrome and vitamins that purportedly help prevent ailments including leg cramps.

Other Perkovic supplements purportedly have helped adult-onset diabetes patients lose weight and keep blood sugar levels low.