A new clinical trial for drugs purporting to raise testosterone levels have shown no benefit for consumers. The drugs in question are marketed to improve sexual performance, increase energy, and slow the aging process. Products such as Androgel are touted to treat a condition known as “Low T”.
“Testosterone products are marketed for non-specific symptoms associated with normal aging, but testosterone is not a reasonable treatment for aging,” study co-author Adriane Fugh-Berman, a pharmaceutical marketing researcher at Georgetown University Medical Center, said in a press release. “Testosterone has known risks and no clear benefits, and shouldn’t be used by men with intact testicles.”
More importantly, Androgel has been associated with serious side effects including a significant risk of heart attack. Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, Inc, the manufacturer, did not give any warnings of the risk of heart attack to physicians. This is the classic definition of a dangerous and defective drug that can be the basis for a lawsuit by those men who have had heart attacks or strokes after beginning to take AndroGel for “low T”.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe, founder of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, published an article in The BMJ detailing the side effects of the drugs and the number of men at risk. Wolfe told Drugwatch he blames the FDA’s lack of action on “the dangerously close connection between the FDA and the [drug] industry.”
He also points out that out of about 27 studies on testosterone therapy. Out of these, only those funded by drug companies showed no evidence of risk. In contrast, independent studies showed a risk of heart problems.
“Testosterone has been marketed to improve a number of conditions but for the vast majority, our review of the data shows that not one of these claims has adequate clinical trial support,” Fugh-Bergman said in a press release.
In the case of Androgel, the marketing of the product has nothing to do with good science. It’s all about drug profits, even to the point of fabricating a condition spuriously called “Low T”.
If you need legal help concerning the use of Androgel or any “Low T” product, contact Saunders & Walker today for the help you deserve.