The checkered history of Pfizer’s Premarin family of drugs

The drugs The name Premarin® spells out in its name what it is made from — PREgant MAres uRINe. Pfizer's Premarin® family of hormone replacement therapy drugs of today includes not only Premarin®, but also similarly manufactured pharmaceuticals — marketed at various times — under the names Prempro®, Premphase®, Provera® and later Aprela® (originally called…

Canadian PMU farms’ losses are China’s gain

EXCLUSIVE REPORT by JANE ALLIN Canada braces for more cuts By now, I’m sure that most who care about the abuse of horses for human gain are aware of the shrinking need for the PMU (Pregnant Mare’s Urine) farms in Manitoba (ya, I’m late in getting this out). Urine collected from these pregnant mares is…

A look at a PMU farm in China — and it’s not all about Pfizer

Pfizer's international market for Premarin is open game for competitors without the U. S. Food & Drug Administration's protection of the company's monopoly trade secret. The key component for the production of Premarin is the estrogen rich urine collected from pregnant mares. This business has become commonly referred to as the pregnant mare's urine or…

Wyeth wins, horses lose, in the Premarin® drug sales sweepstakes

Written by JANE ALLIN Research Analyst | Int'l Fund for Horses Since the introduction of Premarin in 1942, much controversy has followed the lucrative market monopoly of the world’s first conjugated equine estrogen therapy for the treatment of postmenopausal women. Historically, the number of PMU farms, sequestered mares and by-product foals steadily rose until the…