When an ad suggests a product can improve your memory in 90 days, you might be tempted to buy it. But, if solid science doesn’t back these claims, forget about it.
The FTC and the New York Attorney General’s Office sued the marketers of Prevagen for allegedly making false claims that the dietary supplement can improve memory loss and support brain health in older adults. Marketers say Prevagen’s active ingredient — derived from a species of jellyfish — can get rid of excess calcium that builds up in the brain as we age. The TV ads for Prevagen even tout a clinical study and featured dramatic charts.
But according to the FTC, that study actually found that Prevagen didn’t impact brain function as advertised, and the company doesn’t have evidence to back up its claims for memory or other cognitive benefits.
Prevagen’s ongoing and widespread marketing campaign includes national television and radio ads, infomercials on major networks, and ads in magazines, websites and social media. Marketers also promote Prevagen at health food centers and health expos nationwide. As a result, estimated gross revenues for Prevagen are roughly $165 million – the amount the FTC is seeking to return to people who bought the product.
If you remember nothing else, be skeptical about buying a product claiming to do the phenomenal. And report it to the FTC if you pay for a product that promises, but fails, to deliver miraculous results.
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.
In reply to There is a local vitamin by FTC Commenter
You can report information to the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint. The information you provide goes into a secure government database.You can choose whether you want to provide personal or contact information.
In reply to You can report information to by FTC Staff
In reply to I continue to see by RickC59
You can report this to the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint. The information you give goes into a secure database that the FTC and other law enforcement agencies use for investigations. The comments you put here on the blog don't go into the law enforcement database.
In reply to You can report this to the by FTC Staff
In reply to Why are the TV ads still on? by Cat
The FTC and the New York Attorney General’s Office sued the marketers of Prevagen for allegedly making false claims that the dietary supplement can improve memory loss and support brain health in older adults. The case is still in litigation.
If you pay for a product that promises, but fails, to deliver miraculous results, please report it to the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint.