HBW Insight is part of Pharma Intelligence UK Limited

This site is operated by Pharma Intelligence UK Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 13787459 whose registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. The Pharma Intelligence group is owned by Caerus Topco S.à r.l. and all copyright resides with the group.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use. For high-quality copies or electronic reprints for distribution to colleagues or customers, please call +44 (0) 20 3377 3183

Printed By

UsernamePublicRestriction

FDA Warns Of Possible Criminal Charges Against Weight-Loss Product Firms

This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet

Executive Summary

FDA's enforcement action against 28 weight-loss products found to contain undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients drew applause from GlaxoSmithKline, marketer of alli, the only OTC drug approved for weight loss in the U.S

You may also be interested in...



Tainted Supplement Warnings Stress FDA’s Enforcement Limitations

FDA issued public notifications against 20 products marketed as weight-loss supplements containing the withdrawn Rx ingredient sibutramine.

Multi-agency investigation stops weight-loss pill scheme

FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations assists an investigation leading to the arrests of Sengyang "Tom" Zhou and Qingming Hu for allegedly attempting to counterfeit and sell unapproved OTC weight-loss pills to U.S. distributors. FDA said March 25 it collaborated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Postal Inspection Service to determine the origin of Superslim, 2 Day Diet and other products with the active pharmaceutical ingredient sibutramine for obesity (1"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 5, 2009). An affidavit says Zhou, a Chinese national who was arrested in Hawaii, imported the drugs and was involved with making counterfeit versions of GlaxoSmithKline's weight-loss OTC alli (2"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 25, 2010). Zhou, who operates the Web site 3www.2daydietshopping.com, and Hu, who was arrested in Plano, Texas, each face three years in prison and fines up to $250,000 if convicted in the case that will be prosecuted in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Slim Fast, other supplements recalled

Supplement firm Universal ABC Beauty Supply International voluntarily recalls 34 products found by FDA to contain an undeclared substance, sibutramine, a prescription weight-loss drug, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based company says in an April 20 release. The products, including Slim Fast, ProSlim, and Slim 3in1 formulas, have not been approved by the agency and the ingredient is known to potentially cause cardiovascular issues in some users, the firm notes. When FDA announed a crackdown on adulterated weight-loss products in January, the agency warned that selling unapproved drugs may lead to criminal action, though it did not identify the firms suspected of marketing the products (1"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 5, 2009, p. 8). Universal's recalled products were on FDA's list of more than 70 products identified as tainted with undeclared drugs. Only three products had been recalled through April 8, FDA said

Related Content

Topics

Latest Headlines
See All
UsernamePublicRestriction

Register

RS136436

Ask The Analyst

Ask the Analyst is free for subscribers.  Submit your question and one of our analysts will be in touch.

Your question has been successfully sent to the email address below and we will get back as soon as possible. my@email.address.

All fields are required.

Please make sure all fields are completed.

Please make sure you have filled out all fields

Please make sure you have filled out all fields

Please enter a valid e-mail address

Please enter a valid Phone Number

Ask your question to our analysts

Cancel