Reed Smith attorneys Kevin Madagan and Keri Bruce were recently quoted in the January 21st edition of Compliance Week in an article titled “FTC, FDA Take Closer Look at Disclosures,” which discusses recent actions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning advertisement disclosures. The FTC launched Operation Full Disclosure in fall 2014, involving the distribution of warning letters to more than 60 companies across “a wide range of industries” for allegedly failing to properly disclose information in their advertisements. In the article, Kevin and Keri note that the letters are a reminder to all companies, even those that did not receive letters, to review their disclosures.

The FDA also recently announced that its “fair balance” doctrine may be amended to only require companies to recite or print a product’s most prominent and common side effects during television commercials. While such changes would undoubtedly be welcomed by pharmaceutical manufacturers, it could actually result in the FDA paying more attention to drug disclosures to ensure their continued effectiveness. Kevin also comments that there is precedent of the FDA following the FTC’s lead in such matters, and the crackdown on advertisement disclosures could end up involving both agencies.

To read the article, click here.