PMU stands for Pregnant Mare Urine.
Pregnant Mare Urine is used to produce Premarin, the most widely prescribed estrogen based hormone therapy replacement drug. Premarin is manufactured exclusively by Wyeth-Ayerst, a division of American Home Products, they are headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For over 40 years, Premarin was the second most popular drug (Tylenol is number one) in the United States, with an estimated nine million American women taking prescriptions to treat menopausal symptoms.
Premarin products include Prempro, Premphase, Prempac, and Premelle, these drugs are made up of conjugated estrogen obtained from the urine of pregnant mares. It comes in many forms, pills, creams, injections, patches, vaginal rings... and is used to reduce the symptoms of menopause in women or women who have had a hysterectomy. It is also prescribed to eliminate the risk of osteoporosis and reduce the chance of heart disease. It is the only estrogen replacement drug derived from animals, and today there are many synthetic estrogen and plant based estrogen alternatives. Yet still, many women, and even some doctors who prescribe this hormone replacement therapy, don't realize where Premarin comes from and how it is produced. Weyth
On an even more interesting note, Wyeth has attempted to severely undermine natural health alternatives through an FDA Citizen’s Petition to eliminate any natural health options for women, ie: any other form of estrogen replacement - specifically bioidentical hormones. As the name implies, bioidentical hormones (derived from estrogen-like plant compounds) are identical to natural hormones in the body. The chemical makeup of synthetic HRT is not identical. And if the petition is approved, that means that doctors literally would not be able to prescribe alternative therapy as an option to Wyeth's products). Many physicians and women’s groups around the nation are actively organizing to derail this attempt to limit competition at the expense of women’s health.
In 2002, a study released by the Women’s Health Initiative, linked the long-term use of Premarin to an increased risk of stroke and blood clots and linked the use of the related drug Prempro to elevated rates of heart disease and breast cancer! When the National Institute of Health advised physicians to cease prescribing the drugs, sales fell, and thousands of lawsuits were filed against the manufacturer. Wyeth Industries is not going to stop manufacturing or promoting the drug, instead as a result of the findings, Wyeth countered with a drug that decreased the amounts of estrogen or mare urine needed which directly effected the amount of farms needed to produce the drug - consequently the farms farthest away from the processing plant in Brandon Manitoba were laid off.-
Less than nine months after the massive farm layoffs, stock market reports stated that sales of the horse-urine drug were up 29% and that there was discussion in the ranching industry of Wyeth, possibly bringing on new farms!
With all the publicity surrounding the medical industry and Premarin, the link between the drug and its effects on the mares and foals is never brought into the mainstream public's eye. So, now that we were armed with this information, we began to gauge our future horse rescue needs by monitoring the drug’s sales on the stock market (NYSE:WYE)! But by this time we were also told by Wyeth and the PMU industry regulators that we were not allowed to help save the horses bred at any current PMU farms! In a 2006 press release addressed to the current farmers, Wyeth stated that, if the farmers were caught dealing with rescue or adoption groups, their contracts could be terminated. Consequently, all of our horse rescue efforts now must take place at the public auctions!
To make matters even more difficult, in late 2007 we learned of a new horse urine estrogen based drug, Aprela. The FDA had given Wyeth permission to market the new Premarin-based drug meant to treat osteoporosis and menopause. According to the Pharmaceutical Business Review, “This would open up bazedoxifenes/Premarin therapy to the whole postmenopausal market while providing a continuum of care throughout the menopausal period.” Even with the recent health scare, the market for Premarin and allied PMU-based drugs is still estimated to exceed $1.2 billion! Wyeth’s director of women’s health, Ginger Constantine, recently in an interview with Bloomberg, stated that "Aprela is a “major paradigm shift in menopause therapy, because it appears to curb hot flashes and strengthen bones without raising the risk of breast or uterine cancer." Wyeth forecasts Aprela sales of $2 billion a year, offsetting a plunge in revenue from Premarin and Prempro after studies in 2002 linked the drugs to cancer and heart attacks!
Whatever your thoughts are about Hormone Replacement therapy, good or bad, please understand that it has created an issue for any of us that love and honor horses. The only change we can attempt to make is through education and choice. BUT the most horrifying thing is that WE DID NOT KNOW! And we will still be having to learn as new premarin based drugs are being released and a new era of women are reaching menopause! All we are saying is that the public has a right to know both sides of the estrogen story!
