In the warnings letters, the federal regulators told the seven companies that they may have violated certain provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), which prohibits the sale of products without the approval or authorization of the FDA.
The FDA and the FTC ordered the seven companies to stop the sale of the unapproved/unauthorized products to diagnose, mitigate, prevent or cure COVID-19.
Fraudulent novel coronavirus products are “threat to public health”
In a statement, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D. said the agency “considers the sale and promotion of fraudulent COVID-19 products to be a threat to the public health. We have an aggressive surveillance program that routinely monitors online sources for health fraud products, especially during a significant public health issue such as this one. The FDA’s laws are designed to protect the public health by ensuring, among other things, that drugs are safe and effective for their intended uses.”
Dr. Hanh is encouraging consumers to talk to their health care providers regarding their concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and to follow the advice from other federal agencies on how to prevent the spread of the illness.
