Executive Summary

In a Sept. 16 letter to health editors, Ayerst asserts that "an alternative form of estrogen replacement therapy [you may soon begin to hear about] does not offer any significant patient benefits with respect to safety and efficacy over oral estrogens, such as [Ayerst's] Premarin brand of conjugated estrogens." Ayerst notes that only oral estrogens have been proven effective for treatment of osteoporosis and have shown an effect on lipid profiles. The letter adds that "according to industry reports, the transdermal system is expected to cost twice as much as oral estrogens".