President Trump hunted down pharmaceutical companies on Tuesday, accusing them of deliberately hiding dangerous side effects when selling drugs on TV and social media.
He sent about 100 stop letters to the company and announced thousands of warning letters.
He also grants the Minister of Health and Human Services broad authority Robert Kennedy Jr. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary curbs the company and its social media influencers.
Among these measures, measures that pharmaceutical companies can take increase the amount of information about drug-related risks in advertising and actions to “ensure real and non-misunderstood information in direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads”.
The president signed a declaration in the Oval Office on Tuesday to harden the government’s stance on big pharma companies. Instead of adding new enforcement actions, he ordered the government to tighten the enforcement of existing regulations involving drug advertising.
“Our goal is to make sure patients have proper information about drugs that are potentially harmful,” said a senior government official. “I don’t think people sometimes even realize they are drug advertisements.”
The White House declined to say which companies or influencers would receive the letter, but the official mentioned the weight loss pill ads running during the Super Bowl and sparked angriness from the senators on both sides of the aisle.
Telemedicine company Hims & her Illinois Democrat Richard J. said the TV ads “risk misleading patients by omitting any information on safety or side effects.”
According to Federal Trade Commission guidelines, Hims & Hers does not have to provide information on side effects because it does not promote specific drugs or medications. Instead, it urges consumers to consult doctors consistent with FTC regulations.
Drug ads targeting consumers have exploded since the FDA relaxed its policies in 1997. Easing restrictions allows pharmaceutical companies to boast about health claims while revealing only the “most important” health risks of the drug. Prior to policy changes, pharmaceutical companies must disclose a list of possible side effects, or first avoid determining the purpose of the drug.
However, the implementation of these guidelines has been ignored in recent years. The FDA usually sends about 100 letters a year to get pharmaceutical companies to complete their advertising tasks. However, in 2023, the FDA sent only one such letter, and no letters were sent last year.
“There are also regulations that clearly state that advertising must present a fair balance of information…but despite these provisions, law enforcement has become increasingly loose in recent years [compared with] In the past, advertising was much less frequent. ” said the official.
Prescription drug advertising accounts for hundreds of billions of dollars in advertising costs per year. According to ISPOT, this summer, prescription drug brands account for 24.4% of advertising minutes on NBC, ABC, CBS, CBS, FOX News, MSNBC and CNN.
The biggest spending included Abbvie, who spent $377 million on ads promoting anti-inflammatory drug Skyrizi, and Novo Nordisk, who spent $263 million on ads Wegovy, a weight loss pill.
Recent research shows that pharmaceutical companies can generate five times the spend on advertising, creating financial windfalls for TV networks.
It is unclear how much power the Trump administration must control in these marketing activities. Pharmaceuticals believe that under the First Amendment, their advertising is protected.
The U.S. pharmaceutical research and manufacturer of the industry trade group refuses to ban direct consumer advertising by invoking its “guidance principles” to promote drug promotion.
The guide says these ads must be in the public interest by raising awareness, educating consumers about the disease and its treatment options, and encouraging people to talk to doctors.
Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly called for an end to the prescription drug ad. Mr. Kennedy vowed to issue an executive order banning drug ads on television while running for president. He believes Americans take too many prescription drugs and says the industry spends too much on impacting the community.
“We are one of only two countries in the world, allowing pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to consumers,” Mr. Kennedy said in a video he posted on X last year. “Everyone agrees that it’s a bad idea.”
In June, Bernard Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine introduced a bill that prohibits pharmaceutical companies from promoting their drugs directly to consumers.
Under legislation, any promotional communications targeting consumers, including television, radio, printing, digital platforms or social media, will be prohibited. It works for all prescription drug ads.
“The American people don’t want to see misleading and deceptive prescription drug ads on TV,” Sanders said at the time. “They want us to bear the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and ban these false advertising.”
Missouri Republican Josh Hawley and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen introduced a bill to end the drug companies’ ability to deduct consumer drug advertising as a commercial expense.
