DTC Ad Reviews Halved

Lost in the outrage over useless Vytorin's overexposure on the nation's airwaves was a Food and Drug Administration notice last week that it has stopped collecting user fees from pharmaceutical companies that allowed voluntary pre-screening of direct-to-consumer drug advertising. Since Congress appropriated just $6.25 million for drug reviews, and the FDA had estimated it would collect $11.5 million in user fees for that purpose, the agency's DTC review budget has effectively been slashed in half.

According to the industry newsletter FDA Week, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D), a drug industry critic, was behind the move. The agency's use of user fees must be appropriated by Congress. But the Connecticut Congresswoman eliminated user-fee driven DTC reviews from the recently enacted FDA appropriations bill because she is concerned that the agency has become too dependent on industry funding for its basic functions.

She's right on that score. But this seems like a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Better to have industry-funded reviews of DTC ads than no reviews at all, it seems to me.

Here's an interesting take on the Vytorin commercials that's getting tens of thousands of downloads via You Tube. A product of Newstarget.com, it's not exactly from an objective source. That site's proprietor, Mike Adams, makes his living selling "natural" alternatives to prescription drugs. Still, pretty funny. Have a look: