The Food and Drug Administration Wednesday issued drafts of new guidelines that would lift much of the onerous disclaimer copy requirements in direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs. The
FDA said the drafts follow research indicating consumers often ignored or had difficulty reading much of the boilerplate and recommends alternatives that would free ads to focus on plain-language
claims and straight-forward branding. Among other things, new rules could have a profound impact on print media, by removing requirements for extra ad pages describing drug side effects. The agency
will seek public comment before finalizing the proposals.