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FORGET THE PREVAGEN!

After 7 Years in Federal Court the Verdict is in:

We can all change the channel and happily DISREGARD the claims for this heavily advertised “Healthier Brain” dietary supplement.

THE DISPUTE

Complaint to: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

Filed by: The FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION and THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Against Plaintiffs: QUINCY BIOSCIENCE HOLDING COMPANY, INC., PREVAGEN, INC. and others

Citing:

1.)By the Federal Trade Commission:

REPEATED FRAUDULENT OR ILLEGAL ACTS

FALSE OR UNSUBSTANTIATED EFFICACY CLAIMS

FALSE PROOF CLAIMS

2.)VIOLATIONS OF NEW YORK STATE LAW

DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES AND FALSE ADVERTISING

- - Prevagen improves memory;
  - Prevagen improves memory within 90 days;
  - Prevagen reduces memory problems associated with aging;
  - Prevagen provides other cognitive benefits, including but not limited to healthy brain function, a sharper mind, and clearer thinking.

CONSUMER INJURY

- - “Consumers have suffered and will continue to suffer substantial injury as a result of Defendants’ violations.
  - In addition, Defendants have been unjustly enriched as a result of their unlawful acts or practices.
  - Absent injunctive relief by this Court, Defendants are likely to continue to injure consumers, reap unjust enrichment, and harm the public interest.”

(https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/quincy_bioscience_complaint-filed_version.pdf)

THE FINDINGS

“The jury found that none of those statements was supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence, and two of them (about reduction of memory problems with aging) were materially misleading. Each of them has a tendency to deceive.”

The “good” news for those misled: “There was no evidence that Prevagen, or the challenged statements, had actually caused harm or economic injury.” Although one might imagine that the three million people estimated to have purchased Prevagen® from its launch in 2007 until 2020 might have had better uses for the money. (https://www.wired.com/story/prevagen-made-millions-fda-questioned-safety/)

(https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/quincy_order_and_judgment.pdf

THE FINALE!

From the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, December 10, 2024:

“Following seven years of hard-fought litigation, including a jury trial, we are pleased that the Court has ordered Quincy Bioscience to cease making claims about Prevagen that mislead Americans concerned about memory loss. Companies should take note and remember that health claims need to be backed up by reliable scientific evidence.”

(https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/12/statement-ftcs-win-lawsuit-against-makers-dietary-supplement-prevagen)

AS I HAVE SAID PREVIOUSLY:

“Before trusting your future to jellyfish extract or other medically unsupported remedies, Take the forty-five dollars a month and buy fruit, a gym membership, yoga lessons, or copies of my book for your friends and family.”

FOR MORE ON SUPPLEMENTS:

(https://ouragingbrains.com/playing-it-safe-in-the-supplement-aisle/)

References:

Apoaequorin (Prevagen) to improve memory. Med Lett Drugs Ther. Nov 1 2021;63(1636):175-176.

Frumkin, K. Aging or Alzheimer’s? A Doctor’s Personal Guide to Memory Loss, Cognitive Decline, and Dementia, Skyhorse Publishing, November 2024. (Chapter 5, Current Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease)

Comments Welcome

The post FORGET THE PREVAGEN! appeared first on ouragingbrains.

Originally Published on https://agingoralzheimers.com/

Ken Frumkin Ken

Kenneth Frumkin, PhD, MD, FACEP studied physiological psychology (the interaction of the body’s basic biologic mechanisms with behavior) in college and graduate school. He earned his Masters and Ph.D. degrees from McGill University for his work on the relative contributions of nature and nurture to the ingrained survival mechanism of poison-avoidance in rats. After two years of research at the U.S. Army’s Biomedical Laboratories, Ken went on to medical school and a residency in emergency medicine. His 36-year medical career was split between community hospital emergency departments and teaching, research, and practice in military academic medical centers.
Board-certified in his specialty, Dr. Frumkin is the author of over three dozen peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters in psychology and medicine. His article “How to Survive the Emergency Room” published in the AARP Bulletin, was a 2022 National Mature Media Merit Award winner. A complete list of publications and complete resume are at www.linkedin.com/in/KennethFrumkinPhDMD . A Fellow and Life Member of the American College of Emergency Physicians and their Geriatric Emergency Medicine Section, Dr. Frumkin is also an Emeritus member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and their Academy of Geriatric Emergency Medicine. Having retired as a civilian employee of the Department of the Navy in 2017, Dr. Frumkin is currently a volunteer member of the academic faculty at the Emergency Medicine Residency, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia.
Dr. Frumkin writes from the perspective of a practiced author and researcher and, most importantly, as a fellow boomer with “skin in the game.” He, too, is seeking the answers to nearly every older-person’s questions about their fluctuating memories and the possibility of progressive cognitive decline. His book "Aging or Alzheimer’s? A Doctor’s Personal Guide to Memory Loss, Cognitive Decline, and Dementia" comes out November 5, 2024. (AgingOrAlzheimers.com)

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