Why is there a sudden rash of commercials promoting investigational medicines? Are they some kind of scam, or is it just a trend?
Since none of the doctors seem to be in, at the moment, I’ll give this a shot (sorry). I think what you’re referring to are drugs that are undergoing the test trial phase. They are looking for people who are willing to act as guinea pigs for them. It’s not really a scam, but people should be aware that some of these tests involve giving the participants mere placebos. I don’t know whether you’d call it a trend, or not. It’s been going on for a long time, although they do seem to be using more advertising, recently. I’ve also noticed that the ads seem to come in spurts, then fade away. Probably coincidence, as multiple drugs make it to the trial phase at the same time.
Oh, and Welcome to the SDMB! 