Bradley Merrill Thompson, a Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, in the Washington, DC, office, was quoted in an article titled "Lack of FDA Social Media Guidance Isn't Only Problem Facing Regulated Industry."
Following is an excerpt:
Speakers at a panel on social media at the Food and Drug Law Institute's Advertising & Promotion Conference addressed industry best practices in light of the fact that FDA guidance is not due until July 9, 2014. Panel moderator Bradley Merrill Thompson, a member at Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., said that industry was facing the problem of how to "spoon our content" into social media, which he explained was not "designed for health industry purposes." He said big issues for companies are whether they can correct misinformation on social media websites and when they are required to do so. ...
Thompson said the FDA "dawdles" on releasing guidance on social media promotion of FDA-regulated products, and he added that Congress eventually responded in 2012 with the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, by requiring the FDA to issue guidance by July 2014.
According to Thompson, the agency has been dealing with social media regulatory issues for years. Indeed, he said, although the FDA has not issued guidance, it has sent "over a dozen" letters to companies citing problems with their Facebook pages.
