JK -
Any ball will die if not properly maintained.
Resin and particle balls do require a substantial amount of maintenance - mainly cleaning and surface prep. If your friend was doing all these things and the ball died, maybe he can talk to the manufacturer or the pro shop about a replacement - bad balls do sometimes get made.
Regardless, I'd recommend going to a pro shop that has the hook again system. Although I have not personally used it yet, It's a fairly inexpensive way to find out whether the ball just died, or only went into a coma.