According to a new report from the CALPIRG Education Fund, the FDA has sent approximately 170 enforcement letters to various drug companies concerning false or misleading advertising where important information concerning risks was often omitted, unproven uses were enforced, and other deceptive claims were made to doctors and consumers. There were over 150 drugs involved in this process, including Vioxx, Paxil, Oxycontin, and Accutane.
In the report:
- 62% of the misleading messages targeted doctors.
- 37% of messages misrepresented drugs’ risks.
- 22% promoted unproven uses.
- 38% made unsupported or misleading claims.
Also, the report stated that the FDA highlighted at least 82 times in the letters that the false advertising cited clinical trials for propositions which the trials either didn’t support or completely contradicted. Drug companies have been found to supress unfavorable clinical reports and raise the status of favorable ones by using PR firms.
The FDA’s letters did not deter future deceptive advertising.
If you or someone you know has suffered from personal injury from a defective product or false advertising, please feel free to contact a personal injury attorney such as Marc Whitehead and Associates in Houston, Texas.
