NEWS - Drug makers, facing critics, will stop some ads

[Guest guest]

The Wall Stree Journal

11 Dec 2008

By JONATHAN D. ROCKOFF and SHIRLEY S. WANG

" Drug makers, facing critics, will stop some ads " :

Prescription-drug makers updated their voluntary standards for

direct-to-consumer advertising to make the ads more informative, but

the measures stop short of changes sought by government and industry

critics.

The companies said they will halt advertising that includes promoting

prescription drugs for uses that the Food and Drug Administration

hasn't approved or using actors as physicians without saying so. The

guidelines say celebrity endorsers shouldn't say they use a drug

unless they actually do.

Tauzin, president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers

of America, the industry trade group that issued the standards

Wednesday, said the aim was to address the concerns of doctors,

Congress and other critics while continuing to keep patients informed

about valuable treatments.

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Read the full article here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122896253835797105.html

Not an MD