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Sen. Kohl Asks Rep. Stupak to Combine Investigations of Rx, Medical Device DTC Ads

On Friday, Senator Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging sent a letter to Congressman Bart Stupak, chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, asking him to combine investigative efforts regarding direct to consumer advertisements for prescription drugs with medical device DTC ads.

Earlier this month, the Special Committee on Aging held a hearing (Marketing or Medicine: Are Direct-to-Consumer Medical Device Ads Playing Doctor?) lobbying the FDA to place the same level of scrutiny on medical device DTC ads that it has on prescription drug ads. According to the September 26^th letter, Sen. Kohl cited Congressional Research Service data that reported hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on DTC ads for medical devices. Therefore, he questioned why medical device DTC ads "are not regulated with the same level of oversight."

While Sen. Kohl is not currently planning to introduce any bans or limitations on medical device DTC ads, he does not rule it out for the future. "The Committee's future actions in this regard will be guided by the action, of inaction, of the FDA and industry in response to the testimony and the specific criticisms outlined at the hearing," he said in his letter.

Sen. Kohl believes that "regulatory oversight should be at a commensurate level for both pharmaceutical and medical device DTC advertising, and that the House and Senate should work together toward that goal." Sen. Kohl's letter states that Congressman Stupak and his Subcommittee have "done outstanding work in uncovering deceptive and misleading DTC ads sponsored by the drug industry… We would welcome any further exchange of information with the Subcommittee on this important matter, and we stand ready to work with you and your able professional staff in addressing these DTC advertising issues in a cooperative and bicameral manner."