Staying Fit
The makers of Prevagen are “deceiving millions of aging Americans” with claims that the supplement can treat age-related memory loss, AARP says in a new brief supporting a federal false advertising lawsuit.
Prevagen, manufactured by Quincy Bioscience of Madison, Wis., is a popular dietary supplement sold in pharmacies across the nation. In its advertising campaigns, the company has promoted Prevagen as “clinically shown” to restore memory loss.
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Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and New York’s attorney general sued Quincy Bioscience for false advertising in federal district court in New York. The case was dismissed but is being appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The statements Quincy Bioscience makes to sell Prevagen — that it treats memory loss — are unsubstantiated and misleading,” said Julie Nepveu, a senior attorney with AARP Foundation Litigation, which filed the brief on behalf of AARP and the foundation.
“Supplement companies have keyed into the idea that older people are going to spend a ton of money on their products because they want to feel better,” Nepveu added. “We don’t think they should get to prey on people’s fears or claim their product offers some health benefit they cannot prove.” Unlike prescription drugs, supplements are not subject to Food and Drug Administration approval.
AARP has joined other advocacy organizations in writing to the appeals court arguing that the company’s statements about the supplement’s effectiveness have no basis in science. The brief also says the lower-court judge misinterpreted a study Quincy Bioscience uses to back its claim that Prevagen “supports brain function.”
In a statement released in response to the lawsuit, Quincy Bioscience says that the case “is another example of government overreach and regulators extinguishing innovation by imposing arbitrary new rules on small businesses like ours.”
Quincy Bioscience has made tens of millions of dollars on Prevagen, which sells for $33 to $60 for a one-month supply, by advertising it as a proven treatment for the memory loss associated with dementia. Sarah Lock, executive director of the Global Council on Brain Health and senior vice president for policy at AARP, said Prevagen is popular because people are desperate for a cure for dementia-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
“In the absence of a cure, companies offer supplements and make unfounded claims about their effectiveness,” Lock said. “Older people are clearly one of the biggest targets of the supplement industry.”
