FDA Takes Action Against Three Tobacco Companies over “Additive-Free” and “Natural” Marketing Claims
Three tobacco companies—ITG Brands LLC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc., and Sherman's 1400 Broadway N.Y.C. Ltd.—have received warning letters from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over "additive-free" and/or "natural" claims on their cigarette labels. ITG Brands LLC makes Winston cigarettes, labeled additive-free; Santa … [Read more...]
Amgen Agrees to $71 Million Settlement in Allegations of Unlawful Promotion of Aranesp
Amgen Inc. has agreed to a $71 million settlement with 48 state attorneys general who accused the drug maker of unlawfully marketing its anemia drug Aranesp and plaque psoriasis drug Enbrel, for uses beyond the scope of their Food and Drug Administration's approvals. The Thousand Oaks, California-based drug maker agreed to a consent … [Read more...]
Device Makers Push Product Guarantees Due to Slow Sales, but How Patients will Benefit is Unclear
Medical device manufacturers are trying to boost their sales by making bigger product guarantees, Reuters reports. Companies are offering more compensation to hospitals if their devices do not perform properly. According to Reuters, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson and St. Jude Medical are among the first to beef up product … [Read more...]
Doctor Urges FDA not to Loosen Restrictions on Drug Company Marketing
A Harvard medical professor has urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against easing the restrictions on drug companies marketing their drugs for uses for which they have not been approved—so-called off-label use. During the summer of 2015 the FDA will hold a public meeting to discuss whether restrictions on what claims drug … [Read more...]
Abbott on Depakote Marketing Settlement
Abbott Set Aside %1.5M To Depakote Marketing Settlement. The maker of Depakote has set aside $1.5 million to settle charges it illegally promoted off-label, or unapproved uses, of the anti-seizure drug. The potential settlement of a U.S Department of Justice investigation was reported yesterday by The Wall Street Journal, which said … [Read more...]
J&J Warned Over Marketing of Two Devices
Illegally marketing two products. In the newest string of debacles surrounding drug giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J), it just received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stating it is illegally marketing two products, wrote Daily Finance. We’ve previously written that J&J is expecting more … [Read more...]
Illegal Neurontin Marketing to Cost Pfizer $142.1M
Pfizer Marketing Illegal Neurontin. Pfizer Inc. has been ordered to pay $142.1 million in damages for violating a federal antiracketeering law in its marketing of the epilepsy drug, Neurontin. Plaintiffs Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals had accused Pfizer of promoting ‘Neurontin’ for uses not … [Read more...]
Chantix Ads Questioned
Chantix Marketing Controversy. A direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ad is raising some controversy over marketing of a medication that has long been surrounded with debate. Consumer Reports is questioning the ethics of a Chantix (varenicline) ad that, while never mentioning the drug by name, appears to be marketing the medication while … [Read more...]
Brand Name Drug Marketing Dupes Consumers
Brand Name Drug Marketing Dupes Consumers. This week, a group of U.S. doctors argued that the media is too complicit in the commercial practice and marketing strategy of developing and using trendy names for medications to make the brands more popular to consumers. An analysis of U.S. health news reporting conducted by Harvard … [Read more...]
Chantix Marketing Blitz Launched
Chantix Marketing Blitz. Pfizer Inc. has started a huge marketing blitz to save the reputation of its once-promising anti-smoking drug Chantix. Chantix has been recently linked to a variety of ills, including suicidal thoughts and behavior, heart problems, seizures and traffic accidents. But Pfizer has a lot riding on Chantix - the … [Read more...]
Enbrel on New Jersey Amgen Probe
New Jersey Amgen Probe. The marketing of Enbrel is the now the subject of an investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. The Enbrel probe will look into allegations that Amgen, the maker of the psoriasis drug, instructed Enbrel sales representatives to violate patient confidentiality rules and engage in the illegal … [Read more...]
Novartis to Suspend Marketing of Zelnorm
Novartis Suspend Drug Zelnorm. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation that the company must cease its marketing of Zelnorm (tegaserod), a prescription drug used in the treatment of constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). According to the FDA, Zelmorm has been associated with … [Read more...]
Off-label drug marketing: Missing the mark
Off-Label Drug Natrecor Seemed Sure To Become A Blockbuster. The heart-failure drug Natrecor seemed sure to become a blockbuster after Scios of Fremont put it on the market in 2001. Besides its use in hospitalized patients, many clinics began giving it to walk-in patients in weekly sessions dubbed ``tuneups.'' Some people … [Read more...]
Top Merck Marketing Official Describes Battle over Vioxx Label
Top Merck Marketing Official. David W. Anstice, who headed Merck’s business division during Vioxx’s development and sale, spent his third day on the stand Monday as the New Jersey Vioxx trial entered its third week. Mr. Anstice described for jurors how Merck battled with the FDA for two years over the wording of the Vioxx … [Read more...]
Suspended Marketing of Palladone
Purdue Pharma Suspend The Marketing of Palladone. FDA is issuing this public health advisory to inform patients and health care providers that the sponsor of ‘Palladone’, Purdue Pharma, has agreed to suspend sales and marketing of Palladone (hydromorphone hydrochloride, extended release capsules), a potent narcotic painkiller, … [Read more...]
Association of Bextra Tablets Serious Drug Reactions
Pfizer Canada Inc. Suspend The Sale Of Bextra (valdecoxib). Dear Health Care Professional, On 7 April 2005, Pfizer Canada Inc., following discussions with Health Canada, agreed to voluntarily suspend the sale and marketing of BEXTRA (valdecoxib) tablets in Canada pending the submission of BEXTRA’s benefit/risk … [Read more...]
Study: Celebrex, Vioxx Marketing Led To Overuse
Celebrex, Vioxx Overuse. A majority of the patients who were persuaded to use prescription arthritis drugs Celebrex and Vioxx would have done just as well on older, cheaper medications and would have avoided the potential heart and stroke risks now linked to those blockbuster drugs, according to a study of how they were … [Read more...]
Changes in Marketing Ephedra
Changes In Marketing Ephedra. A new study calls for changes in the way the popular weight-loss dietary supplement ephedra is marketed. Researchers found some Web sites advertising dietary products and herbal supplements did not disclose potential adverse effects and made misleading statements about ‘ephedra’. The study … [Read more...]
