FDA Cracks Down on Social Media Medical Ads
Pharmaceutical companies that promote their products using Facebook Share application have stricter rules to abide by per the Food and Drug Administration. After the pharmaceutical group was Novartis was called into question for their misuse in promoting Tasigna, a medicine used to treat types of leukemia, the FDA has laid down more laws on social media practices.
Facebook Share application allows users to share content like videos or articles by generating a link on their profile page. The link can be accompanied by a brief description and a thumbnail image related to the link. Because there was such a brief overview of the medication Tasigna, the FDA criticized the social media ad tactic due to consumer risk of not getting enough information about the drug.
The FDA said in a letter to the company that the content put on the Facebook application is misleading to consumers because it ‘makes representations about the efficacy of Tasigna, but fails to communicate any risk information associated with the use of this drug.’
Novartis removed the widget immediately and the company states it plans to cooperate with the FDA. Other pharmaceutical companies must now watch how the use social media to advertise their wares as the FDA is no doubt watching.
