FDA Head Welcomes Drug Industry Ad Plan

BOSTON — The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday welcomed the drug industry’s voluntary plan to limit consumer advertising as a "step in the right direction" but said the guidelines have to be policed.

"We don’t need (advertisements) to be flippant or frivolous or obscene, and I think the new guidelines that PhRMA has put forward have the possibility of causing improvement," FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Boston.

Last week, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of American, an industry trade group, pledged to cut back on advertisements aimed at consumers after the these have boomed into a multibillion dollar business since the FDA loosened restrictions several years ago.

Soon short television ads that mention only a drug’s name but say nothing about what it does may be pulled off the air. And explicit advertisements for drugs that treat erectile dysfunction, for example, won’t be shown during the early evening or the Super Bowl U.S. football championship.

Crawford, a veterinarian who was approved to run the 99-year old agency last month, said the FDA has a unit that monitors advertisements and that drug companies will consult with the agency before running their commercials.

"It will probably add more work for the FDA," Crawford said, adding however that the agency has to monitor how the industry will implement its plan.

"We will watch them carefully and reserve judgment, but I think it is a step in the right direction," he said..