Society and culture
Legal status
On 24 March 2022, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for the medicinal product Camcevi, intended for the treatment of the cancer of the prostate in adult men when the cancer is "hormone-dependent", which means that it responds to treatments that reduce the levels of the hormone testosterone. The applicant for this medicinal product is Accord Healthcare S.L.U. Names
Leuprorelin is the generic name of the drug and its INN and BAN, while leuprorelin acetate is its BANM and JAN, leuprolide acetate is its USAN and USP, leuprorelina is its DCIT, and leuproréline is its DCF. It is also known by its developmental code names A-43818, Abbott-43818, DC-2-269, and TAP-144.Leuprorelin is marketed by Bayer AG under the brand name Viadur, by Tolmar under the brand names Eligard and Fensolvi, and by TAP Pharmaceuticals (1985–2008), by Varian Darou Pajooh under the brand name Leupromer and Abbott Laboratories (2008–present) under the brand name Lupron. Controversy
In October 2001, the US Department of Justice, states attorneys general, and TAP Pharmaceutical Products, a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories, settled criminal and civil charges against TAP related to federal and state medicare fraud and illegal marketing of the drug leuprorelin. TAP paid a total of $875 million, which was a record high at the time.
The $875 million settlement broke down to $290 million for violating the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, $559.5 million to settle federal fraud charges for overcharging Medicare, and $25.5 million reimbursement to 50 states and Washington, D.C., for filing false claims with the states Medicaid programs. The case arose under the False Claims Act with claims filed by Douglas Durand, a former TAP vice president of sales, and Joseph Gerstein, a doctor at Tufts Universitys HMO practice. Durand, Gerstein, and Tufts shared $95 million of the settlement.There have since been various suits concerning leuprorelin use, none successful. They either concern the oversubscription of the drug or undue warning about the side effects. Between 2010 and 2013, the FDA updated the Lupron drug label to include new safety information on the risk of thromboembolism, loss of bone density and convulsions. The FDA then asserted that the benefits of leuprorelin outweigh its risks when used according to its approved labeling. Since 2017, the FDA has been evaluating leuprorelins connection to pain and discomfort in musculoskeletal and connective tissue. "Lupron protocol"
A 2005 paper in the controversial and non-peer reviewed journal Medical Hypotheses suggested leuprorelin as a possible treatment for autism, the hypothetical method of action being the now defunct hypothesis that autism is caused by mercury, with the additional unfounded assumption that mercury binds irreversibly to testosterone and therefore leuprorelin can help cure autism by lowering the testosterone levels and thereby mercury levels. However, there is no scientifically valid or reliable research to show its effectiveness in treating autism.