Is Premarin Still Made From Pregnant Mare Urine

More Cutbacks To The Pmu Industry In April 2005more Pregnant Mares Suddenly Out Of Work

Wyeth Organics Announces Producer Network Resizing

Brandon, Manitoba April 25, 2005 After a comprehensive evaluation of market demand and inventory requirements, Wyeth Organics today announced plans to reduce the current network of ranchers involved in the collection of pregnant mares urine . Wyeth extracts estrogens from the PMU for use in the manufacture of hormone therapies that are prescribed for the treatment of menopausal symptoms and prevention of osteoporosis. Less PMU is now required due to changes in the market, a shift to lower doses, and improved inventory management.

As part of the network resizing, Wyeth will discontinue all PMU collections from 19 ranchers located in Alberta. This is primarily due to the higher costs associated with transporting the PMU from Alberta to the processing plant in Brandon, Manitoba. The company will also pursue both voluntary and mandatory network retirements from ranchers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota. About 70 ranchers will receive 2-year contracts for the upcoming collection seasons.

Wyeth appreciates the long-standing relationship that it has had with the PMU ranchers and recognizes the high quality of their production operations and equine breeding programs. The Company is also sensitive to the challenges facing producers who will no longer receive contracts for PMU collection, and will offer some financial assistance to producers leaving the network in April 2005.

About Wyeth

What Happens To Foals

Horses used in the PMU industry are selectively chosen and are often of pure bloodlines that is, the industry uses the farms as a kind of breeding establishment to produce highly profitable foals, in addition to supplying urine to drug companies. Foals born into this world are often of high breeding and registered. Why not make a profit off of a by-product?

This is yet another example of how animals are exploited, used and discarded for our own selfish purposes. Although some of the foals will be fortunate enough to be adopted into respectable homes, others are not so lucky. A large of majority make their way to auction houses, along with worn-out mares, and ultimately end up in crowded pens, owned my kill buyers. In 2002, nearly 15,000 foals were sold directly to the slaughter industry. This is the story of a PMU foal born in Manitoba, Canada that found a happy ending.

Karen Volunteered At A Horse Sanctuary In California For Four Years Before Leaving Corporate Life Behind To Buy A 10

Premarin , an estrogen-based hormone replacement therapy developed in the 1940s, is made from pregnant mares urine. Most women dont know about the controversial operation behind the manufacturing of the product or the health problems, including breast cancer, that studies have associated with the drug.

They certainly dont know that 90% of the babies go to slaughter, and the mares when theyre done with them, explains Karen sadly.

Karen went online and found a farmer who had lost his contract with Premarin manufacturer Wyeth Pharmaceuticals . A family member of the farmer was trying to place the foals before they were sent to slaughter. She told me there was this one baby who was big and ugly and no one wanted him, recalls Karen. He was definitely going to go to slaughter because he was part Clydesdale and he would gain a lot by the pound. I said, well, Ill take him, and one foal ended up being four. From there, one thing led to another and here we are.

Karen established Equine Voices to save PMU horses in August of 2004 and received her non-profit status just six months later. A self-described health nut, she knew she wanted the rescued horses at her ranch to benefit from as natural a lifestyle as possible.

I learned about herbs and equine massage and the natural modalities at Return to Freedom horse sanctuary and that opened up the door to caring for my own animals with natural care.

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Big Mares Small Stallions

Quarter horses are the most common registered breed found on equine ranches, the North American Equine Ranching Information Council says. They outnumber the next most common breeds, registered draft Percheron and Belgian horses, by a two-to-one margin. A variety of other less dominant breeds are also involved in the industry, including paints, Appaloosas, standardbreds, and thoroughbreds.

The traditional production pattern is that mares of large breeds, the actual urine producers, are inseminated with semen from stallions of small breeds, for ease of birthing in delivering foals who historically have usually been sold to slaughter. This parallels the practice of dairy farmers of inseminating large Holstein milk cows with semen from Herefords, a smaller breed favored by beef producers.

Samuel Leonard at age 100.

Veterinary Equine Community Dispel Accusations Against The Pregnant Mare Urine Industry

Lee J. DiVita

Currently, there are around 37,000 broodmares on 422 PMU farms and ranches in Canada and North Dakota. They cross all breeds but are most commonly registered Quarter Horses. The urine is collected over a five- to six-month period , coinciding with the winter season. Barns housing the pregnant mares are temperature controlled.

The mares are put to pasture in March, and in April or May they deliver some 30,000 foals that are weaned through September. During the summer, with the addition of a stallion to each band of mares, the horses breed naturally, and the cycle begins again.

A statement from the company details that, starting in 1996, Wyeth-Ayerst invited “teams of equine veterinarians, and others representing the world’s leading equine veterinary bodies, to visit representative PMU ranches” in Canada and North Dakota.

In 2000, a Canadian counterpart, PMU Foal Quest, purchased 300 foals at risk for slaughter and is looking for new homes for them.

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Pfizer Turns The Sex Talk Toward 50

Anyone whos watched a Viagra commercial knows that Pfizer isnt too embarrassed to talk about sex. Anyone whos run across Pfizers Get Old campaign knows it doesnt shy away from aging, either. Now, the drug giant is going equal opportunity on the sex-and-aging talk, and Desperate Housewives actress Brenda Strong has the dialogue.

With its latest menopause awareness campaign, Pfizer is taking a break from hot flashes and night sweats. Instead, its focusing on some lesser-known effects of menopause, namely painful intercourse and vaginal atrophy. Theyre not terms tossed around at your average dinner party, and Pfizers campaign capitalizes on the uncomfortable.

Aptly titled Lets Talk About Change, the campaign has launched with a YouTube video titled The Other Talk. In one scene, Strongs character engages her daughter in the birds-and-bees conversation so often lampooned in Hollywood comedies. Predictably, said daughter closes the door in her mothers face. But then the tables are turned. Strongs character finds herself in an awkward conversation with her motherabout menopause and its effects on her mothers sex life.

If women did ask their doctorsand if the conversation goes as Pfizer might hopewomen would not only hear about symptoms but also get information about the companys products for those very symptoms.

The Problem With Premarin

Premarin is created by collecting the urine of pregnant mares. The mares are kept in small standing stalls in order to limit their movement, so not to displace the urinary bladder bags used to collect every drop of urine. The mares are kept in this manner for a lengthy portion of their pregnancy, normally about six months. Once the mares are full term and ready to deliver, they are turned out to have their foals. The mares are able to nurse their foals until weaning age, about 4 months, at which time they are separated and the mare is bred back to repeat the whole process again. This cycle of breeding has created an overabundance of unwanted foals, most of which are sold to the slaughter industry.

PMU farms used to exist all across the USA and were also prevalent in Canada. Conditions at PMU farms vary, and some farms work very diligently to place their unwanted foals. Many others are not as responsible. Due to increasing pressure of animal welfare regulation, and public outcry over the horrible fates often suffered by the foals, current PMU production has moved overseas.

Because of the move overseas, PMU foals are no longer available in the US. On occasion, we do see some of the mares who managed to escape the industry and have now traveled throughout the equestrian community. Most are easily recognizable by a large freeze brand often on the left hip that is usually 3 to 4 numbers.

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Pmu Ranchers Feel Pinch As Cuts Announced

Pfizer Canadas cuts to pregnant mares urine production will force four Manitoba ranches and one Saskatchewan ranch out of the industry.

The reduction affects three ranches in southwestern Manitoba, one in the Interlake region of Manitoba, and one in Saskatchewan. Of those five, three producers raised registered Quarter horses, one bred purebred Percherons, and one raised sport horses.

Pfizer has initiated a review of its inventory management and determined they are able to satisfy market demand by working with fewer ranchers.

The latest reduction leaves 19 producers still involved in PMU production in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with most ranches located in southwestern Manitoba, four each in south-central Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan and one in the Interlake.

Us Findings Confirmed By Brits

The U.S. findings were confirmed and augmented a year later by data published in the British Medical Association journal showing that taking popular combinations of estrogen and progestin appeared to produce a 66% greater risk of developing breast cancer within five years, and a 22% greater risk of dying from it.

Taking estrogen alone increased the risk of developing breast cancer by 30%.

The British data came from clinical observation of nearly one million women between the ages of 50 and 64, who were surveyed at annual mammogram appointments beginning in 1996.

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What Can Be Done To Help The Horses

Animal protectionists continue to demand that Wyeth Pharmaceuticals act ethically and rapidly on behalf of all displaced industry horses. Numerous efforts to communicate and negotiate with the huge drug company have not been well-received in fact, Wyeths silence has been deafening. Visitors to this website who feel that Wyeth needs to show responsibility for the lives of industry horses can contact:

Mr. Steve Tasher, Senior Vice-PresidentWyeth PharmaceuticalsFax: 660-7111

Other Estrogens Also Influence Neurogenesis

Although the effects discussed above are from estradiol-based studies, some studies also examine changes in neurogenesis from estrone-based treatments. In young-adult female rats, acute estrone can dose-dependently increase cell proliferation and chronic estrone decreased neurogenesis, whereas chronic estradiol increased neurogenesis compared to control rats that had undergone Morris water maze training . Premarin, an estrone-based hormonal therapy, influenced hippocampal neurogenesis differently based on experience or age of animals . In young-adult rats chronic Premarin treatment increased neurogenesis only in animals that underwent radial arm maze training and not in cage controls . In middle-aged rats, Premarin treatment increased neurogenesis in the dorsal dentate gyrus but decreased neurogenesis in the ventral dentate gyrus in sham-operated rats . However, Premarin failed to influence neurogenesis in animals that had been ovariectomized many months earlier, indicating a critical window for Premarin to exert its effects much like 17-estradiol . Thus, estrone can decrease neurogenesis in the hippocampus, although this effect varies with brain region, length of treatment, whether the animal has been previously deprived of estrogens, and timing of BrdU injections relative to hormone treatment.

Talma Rosenthal, Suzanne Oparil, in, 2007

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Premarin Sales Figures Continue To Deline

The Premarin family of hormone replacement products was the 11th best seller in 2018 at $832 million, a decline of 14.8 percent. Sales in the first six months of 2019 were $361 million, 10 percent less than in same period of 2018.

Third quarter sales of Premarin family $182 million, down 11%.

Data as of 12.27.19

The Womens Health Initiative Study And Risks Of Prempro Use

Back in July 2002 the Womens Health Initiative study into hormone therapy was stopped abruptly because it was clear that long-term risks of Prempro use clearly outweighed the benefits. Prempro was a combination pill made up of Premarin and Provera, a synthetic form of progesterone. Women in the study on Prempro were found to suffer more breast cancers, heart attacks, strokes and blood clots than the women taking the placebo.

The results of the WHI study sent shockwaves around the world and women stopped taking HRT in droves. Doctors stopped prescribing it and for over a decade there was a lot of confusion around the safety of HRT.

Unfortunately, when the results of the study were publicised, no distinction was made between synthetic conjugated horse oestrogens like Premarin and bioidentical oestrogen and progesterone.

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Pfizers Wyeth Loses Bid To Duck Hormone

Pfizer Incs Wyeth unit must face a class action alleging that the drugmaker misled California women by downplaying risks including breast cancer associated with its hormone-replacement therapy products, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge John Houston in San Diego on Monday ruled the plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence for a jury to decide whether Wyeths alleged misrepresentations caused women to buy Prempro, Premarin and Premphase.

To read the full story on Westlaw Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2FOpbRU »

The Food & Drug Administration

PMU drugs were first approved by the FDA in 1942 followed by PremPro, PremPhase, PMU creams, patches, and the latest PMU drug, DUAVEE, which hit the market in 2014. PMU drugs contain impurities and unknown properties that cannot be identified. Bio-Identical hormones are regarded by many medical professionals to be much safer while not involving the use and abuse of horses to produce them. There are numerous other doctor-recommended medications on the market that women can use to effectively treat the symptoms of menopause that are safely produced in laboratoriesand whose ingredients can be completely identified. Note: Equine Advocates is not endorsing or recommending any particular medication. All questions of a medical nature should be taken up with your doctor.

What a crew! All the mares in this photo either came from PMU factory farm operations in Canada or are the offspring of those mares and born in the U.S.

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New Book Flash Count Diary: Menopause And The Vindication Of Natural Life By Darcy Steinke

What orcas can teach humans about menopause and matriarchs, A new book argues for a sea change in the way our culture views older women.

Her research unearthed a long history of dubious cures, from transfusions of dogs blood to vinegar sponge baths to putting a magnet in your underpants. All of which, she says, seem a little less strange once you realize that the most popular hormone replacement treatment, Premarin, is made from the urine of pregnant horses. »

Stetson And Premarin Horses

We at Skydog have known for many years about the cruel and inhumane practice of extracting urine from pregnant mares to make the drug Premarin made by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

When we were contacted about an 18 year old horse named Stetson who was a PMU baby we said yes as we want to highlight this brutal practice and help raise awareness against it and hopefully bring it to an end.

Stetson was adopted as a three month old foal by his previous owner and his life long friend whom he shared his pasture with, was a mustang named Shiloh. When his friend died and his owner was not able to physically care for him anymore, we said yes to bringing Stetson to Skydog. Little Stetson was the thrown away baby of one of the poor mares who are kept permanently pregnant to extract their urine for a drug used in Hormone Replacement Treatment for women.

Not nearly enough women who are prescribed Premarin or the other versions of it named Prempro, Premphase,, Prempak-C and DUAVEE know the cruelty behind how this drug is produced and the lifelong suffering of the mares involved and the by-products of this practice, the foals like Stetson, who are sent to slaughter if not lucky enough to be rescued.

Check out the article below from HumaneDecisions.com for more information

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Duavee Enters The Marketplace

Pfizers latest menopausal drug Duavee, the combination menopausal-osteoporosis drug, comprised of conjugated equine estrogens and bazedoxifene was approved by the FDA on Oct 3, 2013 and was available to the marketplace in the first quarter of 2014.

However the FDA approval was not without provisions. Due to the heightened risk of endometrial hyperplasia, potentially a precursor to endometrial cancer, Wyeth/Pfizer is required to conduct a post marketing pharmacokinetic trial to evaluate the effect of conjugated equine estrogens and bazedoxifene on imminent changes in endometrial tissues within the selected cohort of non-obese and obese postmenopausal women. See»

In effect the FDA has granted them permission to sell this concoction to unsuspecting women despite the undeniable concern that there is an increased risk of endometrial cancer. The final report from Wyeth/Pfizer is to be submitted by 04/2015 an entire year and a half after its approval.

Pfizer had a lackluster first quarter, and the continued profit decline, accompanied by a lack of groundbreaking drugs on the horizon, disappointed investors. Despite the fact that Duavee took years to get to market along with biased studies, inexcusable side effects, questionable data and the fact that the FDA has yet to approve bazedoxifene as a stand-alone drug, Pfizer is pinning its hopes on Duavee to pick up the slack.