Regulatory News In Brief

The National Advertising Division refers marketing for Generix Laboratories LLC’s weight-loss supplement BiphedAdrene to the Federal Trade Commission for further review after the company failed to respond to the industry self-regulation group’s request for substantiation. According to a NAD review published June 22, Salt Lake City-based Generix claimed its weight-loss and energy-boosting dietary supplement was not for people who want to lose “five or six ‘vanity pounds,’” but was “intended for the significantly overweight.” It also claimed that “While the pills do cause rapid weight loss (no doubt about that), most people buy them as ‘speed pills,’” which raised concern with NAD, part of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, that the product was marketed as a street drug alternative in violation of FDA regulations. FTC usually prioritizes reviewing referrals from NAD, and the case likely will grab regulators’ attention because it involves weight-loss drugs, a key focus area for FTC Also see "Agencies Target “Fraud-Driven” HCG Weight-Loss Ingredient" - Pink Sheet, 12 December, 2011..