FDA Asks Pharmaceutical Companies to Include Drug Injury Risk Information in Google Ads
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent letters to major pharmaceutical companies, warning them that their Google search ads will be removed unless they start including information about the risks of the drugs.
Most of the top pharmaceutical companies received the letter, which included two pieces of information the agency expects pharmaceutical search ads to have:
- The full name of the drug
- Risk factors associated with the drug
Until now, pharmaceutical marketing companies followed the “One Click" rule. As long as all risk information was provided on the page users were directed to after clicking the ad once, risk information was considered sufficient. Now, the agency is demanding that ads include the risks and explains that, laws for print or television marketing are the same for internet marketing. Many pharmaceutical companies have complied, but argue that the FDA should look further into internet advertising and understand that including the risks of a drug is, not only impossible considering Google's guidelines, but also more confusing for consumers. The FDA set April 9th as the deadline for companies to change their ads.
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Medical injury lawyers support the FDA's decision to regulate pharmaceutical companies' internet advertising. After all, if a company has is able to describe a product in glowing terms within the Google character limit, it should have no problem including risk information within the character limit as well. However, what we would like is for Google, the FDA, and pharmaceutical companies to come up with ways in which consumers would have all pertinent information about the drug, including risks, when a search ad catches their attention. Currently, the FDA’s new system has online pharmacies showing up as the top listings in text ad results; this is not very helpful for consumers.
This is one more example of good intentions, but flawed methods. The FDA needs to put a little more effort into defining the rules clearly, and pharmaceutical companies must work with the agency to ensure that customers have all risk information at a glance. This is all new territory for the agency. Clear guidelines will give companies no excuse for disobeying the rules and will provide consumers with all the information they need.
Pharmaceutical Attorney
Pharmaceutical companies are required to disclose the risks of their products. Failure to do so can result in seriously injured consumers and even death. Luckily, the FDA is doing what they think is best to protect American consumers, lets just hope they are not confusing the situation even more.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective pharmaceutical drug an experienced medical injury lawyer can help you find the answers and resources you need to recover. For a free evaluation of your case, contact a medical injury attorney at Arnold & Itkin LLP.
