Texas Attorney General Joins Investigation into Puberty Blocking Drugs

AUSTIN –Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to AbbVie Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as part of an investigation to determine whether these manufacturers of puberty-blocking drugs deceptively advertised and promoted hormone blockers for unapproved uses without disclosing the potential risks to children and their parents. The CIDs follow an internal investigation opened in this matter in mid-December 2021, and last month’s release of a related formal Texas Attorney General Opinion.   

  “Companies should never promote or supply puberty blockers for uses that are not intended or approved,” Attorney General Paxton said. “I will not allow Big Pharma to misleadingly promote these drugs that may pose a high risk of serious physical and psychological damage to Texas children who cannot yet fathom or consent to the potential long-term effects of such use.”  

  The medications at issue, Supprelin LA and Lupron Depot, are FDA-approved to treat children with Central Precocious Puberty, in which puberty commences prematurely. Vantas, along with other forms of Lupron, has been prescribed for palliative treatment of prostate cancer. But these drugs are now being used to treat gender dysphoria even though they are not approved for such use by the Food and Drug Administration. Gender dysphoria is a diagnosed mental disorder in which a person experiences significant distress related to a strong desire to be of another biological sex.