PhRMA called for FDA to develop an agency icon or bug that drugmakers could use on their websites to link to agency-approved product information and patient medical guides.
“Going forward, the agency could promote the responsible use of the internet to benefit patients by shining a brighter spotlight on legitimate, FDA-regulated health communication,” said PhRMA SVP Ken Johnson in a statement. “Leveraging the FDA’s logo—or a universal FDA-approved graphic symbol—in search results and throughout the web would inform patients, at a glance, that they ware visiting a legitimate site that contains comprehensive FDA-regulated benefit and risk information.”
Such a logo, PhRMA suggested, could include a “universal warning statement” noting that all drugs carry risks and inviting viewers to “click here for more information,” the group said, “to provide an indication of risk when there is little space.”
The agency also hailed the FTC’s approach to space-limited formats like Twitter and paid search, and urged FDA to “facilitate communication of abbreviated benefit and risk information,” given a prominent link to full indication and risk information. The group suggested that “such information could be provided using roll-over or pop-up technology.”
The proposals come as a preamble to the trade group’s testimony at FDA’s public hearings on internet and social media promotion of regulated products later this week.
