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On August 29, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) issued an untitled letter to AbbVie, Inc. (AbbVie) regarding a promotional, direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisement (TV ad) for UBRELVY® (ubrogepant) tablets, for oral use (Ubrelvy).[1] Ubrelvy is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.[2] FDA concluded that the TV ad – which featured tennis star Serena Williams – misleadingly suggested that Ubrelvy provides greater benefits than has been demonstrated and was therefore misbranded under FDA regulations.Continue Reading Ubrelvy Untitled Letter – A Double Fault for AbbVie? Or Makeup Misread for FDA?

On July 17, 2024—but just recently posted to the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website—FDA issued its second untitled letter (letter) of the year to Kaleo, Inc. (Kaleo) over social media promotion of AUVI-Q® (epinephrine injection, USP). The social content was posted on the personal Instagram account of Brittany Mahomes—yes, that Mahomes. While the letter is splashy by virtue of its target and the message presented, the content, rationale, and findings by FDA are not surprising—linking to important safety information (ISI) alone is not enough, especially when the product is intended to treat a potentially life-threatening condition in children. FDA made a tough choice to go on the record against a message that looked like a public service announcement about recognizing anaphylaxis and talking to a doctor about your kids’ health.Continue Reading FDA’s Second Untitled Letter of the Year – An Apparently Tough Choice Between Raising Awareness and Public Safety for Anaphylaxis Drugs

On August 4, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (“OPDP”) issued a Warning Letter to AstraZeneca which stated that the company made misleading claims in a promotional sales aid about the effectiveness of BREZTRI AEROSPHERE™ (“Breztri”). Given that it has been almost a year and half since OPDP issued a Warning Letter (the last Warning Letter was issued in February 2022), the takeaways here are significant for industry and provide insight into how FDA will examine efficacy claims that are so-called “consistent with label” and require compliance with FDA’s June 2018 guidance (the “CFL Guidance”).[1],[2] Going forward, we expect the agency’s focus to remain on product communications to the public—to either a general consumer or professional audience—and whether those communications include essential contextual information to avoid the potential that such claims could be viewed as misleading.Continue Reading Context is Key: FDA Sends a Strong Message About Efficacy Claims

The wait is finally over. On June 7, 2023, after remaining silent for over an entire year, the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (“OPDP”) issued its first untitled letter of 2023 to Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Xeris”).[1] The untitled letter involved promotional communications for Recorlev® (levoketoconazole) tablets for oral use (“Recorlev”) and focused on two of its consumer webpages.[2]Continue Reading FDA Issues First Untitled Letter of the Year to Xeris Pharmaceuticals

On March 31, 2022, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an untitled letter to Bausch Health Companies Inc. regarding a promotional video and healthcare professional website for DUOBRII™ (halobetasol proprionate and tazarotene) lotion, indicated for topical treatment of plaque psoriasis in adults (DUOBRII). The video[1] content aired on a popular television network and the website[2] content was directed at healthcare professionals.  This is only the second untitled letter from OPDP this year, both of which were focused on false and misleading promotional messaging.
Continue Reading FDA Issues Untitled Letter to Bausch Health Companies for Misleading Statements Relating to DUOBRII™