By Ricardo Carvajal & Kurt R. Karst – On October 28, 2008, FDA announced that the Agency issued Warning Letters to Bayer HealthCare contending that two of Bayer’s products, Bayer Women’s Low Dose Aspirin + Calcium and Bayer Aspirin with Heart Advantage (Heart Advantage), are unapproved …
On October 7, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals v. Lester M. Crawford, affirmed a district court decision finding that: (1) FDA complied with the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) in promulgating its final rule banning dietary supplements that …
Representatives John Dingell and Bart Stupak are investigating advertising claims made for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ Centrum Cardio multi-vitamin. The inquiry stems from a review of direct-to-consumer advertising for pharmaceutical products by the Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. In a …
According to the Associated Press, a federal court has sentenced Steven Warshak, founder of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, to 25 years in prison for crimes including mail fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and money laundering. In addition, Warshak and other defendants must forfeit money and assets …
On July 1, 2008, ConsumerLab.com, LLC published a product review titled “Red Yeast Rice Supplements.” Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. sent an 8-page letter to ConsumerLab on July 17 to inform the company that, as confirmed in FDA warning letters, the product review created potential …
In mid-April, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (“GSK”) and a trio of research and advocacy organizations submitted a citizen petition to FDA that asks the Agency to prohibit structure/function claims for dietary supplements that expressly or impliedly reference weight loss. In addition to claims that expressly reference …
Medicure Pharma submitted a citizen petition to FDA that asserts that all dietary supplements containing pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (“P5P supplements”) are adulterated under FDC Act § 402(f). The petition asserts that P5P (a form of vitamin B6) is a new dietary ingredient which has neither been …
In a previous post we opined that § 912 of the FDA Amendments Act (“FDAAA”) could represent a fundamental shift in the dividing line between foods and drugs. For our most recent thoughts on that subject, we refer you to the column we recently published …
On April 2, 2008, upon FDA’s request, federal agents seized more than $1.3 million in dietary supplements from LG Sciences, LLC of Brighton, Michigan. According to FDA’s news release, the seized products contained “unapproved food additives and/or new dietary ingredients for which there [was] inadequate …
In our October 2007 summary and analysis of the FDA Amendments Act (“FDAAA”), Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. noted that FDAAA § 912, concerning a new prohibition against foods to which drugs or biological products are added, is “of potential significance to the development of …
On March 21, 2008, the California EPA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (“OEHHA”) announced a workshop scheduled for April 18, 2008 to seek public input on the potential regulation of nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, under Proposition 65 (the Safe Drinking Water and …
The latest issue of FDLI Update features an article by Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C.’s Diane B. McColl and Susan J. Matthees. The article, titled “Nutrition Labeling: A Look at FDA’s Proposed Requirements,” provides an overview of FDA’s November 2, 2007 Advance Notice of Proposed …
North Dakota-based food and dietary supplement manufacturer Swanson Health Products, Inc. (“Swanson”) filed a Citizen Petition with FDA dated January 18, 2008, requesting the Agency to “take all appropriate steps to prevent California’s Safe Drinking Water and toxic Enforcement Act (‘Proposition 65’) from being applied …
The Food and Drug Law Institute is scheduled to hold its 6th Annual Conference on Enforcement and Litigation on February 19-20, 2008. Among other topics of discussion slated for the conference are the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s proposed guidelines that would greatly enhance the criminal penalties …
On Nov. 27, 2007, FDA published a proposed rule to restrict the use of nutrient content claims for the omega-3-fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The Agency proposes to prohibit notified nutrient content claims for EPA and DHA and …
