NEWS - FDA urges docs to report misleading drug ads

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FDA urges docs to report misleading drug ads

By MATTHEW PERRONE (AP)

11 May 2010

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it will

begin asking doctors to keep an eye out for misleading drug

advertisements as part of the agency's latest effort to police the

pharmaceutical industry's multibillion-dollar marketing machine.

The agency's " bad ad program " urges doctors to report ads and sales

pitches that violate FDA rules. Drug companies are legally required to

present a balanced picture of a drug's benefits and risks in

promotions, though critics charge that many TV and magazine ads fail

to do so.

Currently the FDA relies on a few dozen staffers to review hundreds of

pharmaceutical ads, brochures and presentations voluntarily submitted

by companies or reported to the agency by drug industry personnel.

The agency issues warning letters to companies using misleading

materials, but because of the volume of submissions those letters

often aren't sent until months after the ad is released — and in some

cases after the ad is no longer in circulation.

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