What Drug Marketers Have to Fear from the FTC

That's not a typo. I'm talking about the FTC, not the FDA. It was significant that in January the FTC slapped several companies, including Bayer, with fines for misleading marketing of diet supplements. While diet supplements are not drugs, many of them look like drugs and make drug-like claims. And of course they're extremely profitable. Which is why companies like Bayer, Wyeth and DuPont have gone into the field. The advantage for drug companies in this area is that it is more heavily regulated by the FTC than the FDA. The latter agency was stripped of its regulatory power over diet supplements by the 1994 Diet Supp and Health Education Act. Anyway, take it from the horse's mouth: I interviewed FTC chief Deborah Platt Majoras last week, and she gave me her take on the matter.