FDA To Discuss Drug Ad Legislation
Posted on: Friday, 16 May 2008, 01:20 CDT
The Food and Drug Administration is considering a proposal today that could change the way pharmaceutical companies advertise their drugs.If passed, the FDA would require all pharmaceutical firms to include a toll-free number on its advertisements where patients can report side effects involved with taking the medication.
The FDA has called upon a panel of outside communication experts, who will help them determine whether the possibility of such negative information would be a deter viewers from other important information.
Some lawmakers say the amount of advertisements can actually encourage over-prescribing of medications.
"Drugs get approved based on results of a small number of people in clinical trials, but it's really when millions of people start taking them that we see side effects that might not have been known to the company," said Kim Witczak, founder of patient advocacy group WoodyMatters . The group is named for Witczak's husband, Woody, who committed suicide in 2003 while taking Pfizer's antidepressant Zoloft. The following year FDA added warnings about risks of suicidal behavior to all depression drugs.
Pharmaceutical companies rely largely on TV ads to spread the word about the benefits of new drugs. Last year companies spent about $3.5 billion on TV ads.
The FDA wants to raise awareness so that people know they have a number to call and report serious side effects.
A Consumer Reports poll published earlier this year found that only 35 percent of consumers knew they could report drug side effects to the government.
Print advertisements already include contact information for the FDA, as required by a law passed last fall.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents Merck & Co. Inc, Wyeth and other pharmaceutical companies, has not responded to the proposed legislation, but the group did support the movement to add the side effect warnings to print ads.
Witczak, who is scheduled to speak Friday, said "if it's good enough for print, it's good enough for TV."
Last week, Democrats in Congress held a hearing titled: "Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Marketing, Education or Deception?" The goal of the meeting was to determine whether TV ads were deceptive in their representation of medications, despite audio warnings about potential side effects.
At the hearing, Duke University professor Ruth Day told House lawmakers that advertisers often use faster voice overs and distracting visuals when describing drug side effects during the commercial.
In her research, Day found that 80 percent of viewers can recall benefits mentioned in TV drug ads, while only 20 percent successfully recall side effects.
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Source: redOrbit Staff and Wire Reports
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