Last week, a British company called Futura Medical announced that their new erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment, MED3000, had been approved as a medical device in the EU. Futura's share price shot up shortly afterwards.
But MED3000 is no ordinary treatment. It is, in fact, possibly the first time in history that a company has knowingly commercialized a placebo.
MED3000 is a gel which is rubbed into the head of the penis to enhance erections. Futura state that it "is a highly effective, clinically proven, topical treatment for erectile dysfunction" with "60% of patients seeing onset of their erection within 5-10 minutes of application."
But what exactly is it?
MED3000 originated from Futura's efforts to treat ED with glyceryl trinitrate (nitroglycerin). Nitroglycerin is known to affect blood flow. The company created a nitroglycerin gel and called it MED2005, and carried out a randomized controlled trial comparing MED2005 to a placebo gel, ...
