BIG PHARMA'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
BY
KATHLEEN DEOUL
(XI of XII)

REGULATORS FAIL TO ACT

Where, you might ask is the government? After all, how can Big Pharma advertise these drugs as being effective when they are not? Doesn't the government regulate pharmaceutical advertisements? Won't it make sure that they are truthful?

The answers to those questions are yes, and no.

Yes, the government is supposed to regulate pharmaceutical company ads. Specifically, they are supposed to look out for ads that are misleading. With Big Pharma spending over $2.8 billion on direct to consumer ads, this certainly is an important task. The trouble is that the FDA is falling down on the job.

Since direct to consumer ads were first allowed in 1999, the proportion of FDA citations per complaint regarding drug advertisers has steadily dropped. In the most recent year for which complete data are available, the FDA cited one company for each eight complaints it received. The year before, however, it had cited one company for each seven complaints.