Drugs

Lynch Urges Dietary Supplement Awareness

Attorney General Loretta Lynch says that consumers should exercise caution when considering taking a dietary supplement and talk to a doctor before making that decision. In a video produced for National Consumer Protection Week, Lynch notes that dietary supplements are not subject to FDA testing before they are shipped to stores. “Some promise results that they can’t deliver,” she says, “or ingredients that they don’t contain.”

The video says that too many dietary supplement manufacturers are making a profit by misleading and in some case harming patients.

The Lynch video builds on an 11/2015 nationwide dietary supplement sweep conducted by the Justice Department, FDA, Federal Trade Commission, Postal Service, IRS, Defense Department, and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Lynch says that as a result of that sweep, civil and criminal cases have been pursued against more than 100 makers and marketers of dietary supplements.

“The actions resulted from an effort to focus enforcement resources in an area of the dietary supplement market that is causing increasing concern among health officials nationwide,” a Justice Department statement says. “In each case, the department or one of its federal partners allege the sale of supplements that contain ingredients other than those listed on the product label or the sale of products that make health or disease treatment claims that are unsupported by adequate scientific evidence.”

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton’s responses on vaccines, contraception and abortion medication during her 9/24 Senate confirmation hearing raise concerns that ideology could influence her decision-making if she takes over the agency, MSNBC senior medical analyst Dr. Vin Gupta said Friday. Gupta was particularly critical of Overton’

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton emerged from her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday (see earlier story) without resolving questions about whether she has enough Republican support to advance — and with a rapidly narrowing window for confirmation before the midterm elections. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing provided few

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA has classified Boston Scientific's recall of its Imager II Angiographic Catheters as Class I because a manufacturing problem could cause catheter tips to degrade and detach, potentially resulting in life-threatening complications. The agency announced the Class I classification 9/25, updating an Early Alert it issued

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

FDA has approved Roche’s Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for reducing the risk of relapse in adults and children aged 2 and older with frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent, childhood-onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who are in remission. The expanded approval covers the use of the CD20-directed antibody beyond its existing

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome