FDA
Warns Companies Selling Drugs on the Internet that Falsely Claim to Prevent and
Treat STDs, including HIV/AIDS  The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued warning letters to 6 U.S.
companies and 1 foreign individual for marketing unapproved and misbranded drugs
over the Internet for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs).
The products are being sold as:
•
Tetrasil
•
Genisil
•
Aviralex
•
OXi-MED
•
Imulux | •
Beta-mannan
•
Micronutrient
•
iQina
•
SlicPlus |
The
sellers falsely claim that their products prevent or treat a variety of STDs,
including herpes, chlamydia, human papillomavirus (HPV), cervical dysplasia, and
HIV/AIDS.
 Some
of these products are falsely claimed to have "FDA approval" and some
are claimed to be "more effective" than conventional therapies. Examples
of such claims include:
•
"Treatment kills all herpes viruses WITHOUT having
to use conventional drugs or medications."
•
"Greatest STD Protection without Condoms."
•
"The active ingredient in our product is FDA certified
to destroy 99.9992 percent of all pathogenic organisms [i.e.] Chlamydia."
"STDs
are very serious diseases and these products give consumers a false sense of security
that they are protected from STDs," said Janet Woodcock, MD, Director of
the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. What
Consumers Should Do
According to the FDA, consumers should take
the following steps:
•
Stop using these products immediately.
•
Contact a healthcare professional if they have experienced
any bad reactions after using these products.
 •
Notify the FDA of any complaints or problems associated
with these products through FDA's MedWatch voluntary reporting program at 800-FDA-1088
or www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.
The
agency's warning letters state that failure to properly resolve violations of
the law with regard to false claims may result in further enforcement actions
that may include seizure of illegal products and possible criminal prosecution.
Issuing
these warning letters is part of the FDA's ongoing campaign against fraudulent
products marketed on the Internet for serious diseases. The agency also works
to educate consumers about the risks and dangers related to buying unsafe products.
To
view the recent letters, see: 3/14/08
Source
U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA Warns Companies Importing and Marketing
Drugs Over the Internet that Fraudulently Claim to Prevent and Treat STDs. Press
Release. March 6, 2008. | 
