• Ad Age, Thursday, September 20, 2007 10:45 AM

Advertising groups hailed legislation passed by the House yesterday that allows the Food and Drug Administration to fine marketers for misleading direct-to-consumer drug ads. But it doesn't include any restrictions, such as a ban on advertising pharmaceuticals during their first two or three years on the market. The Senate is considering the bill; it may move to President George W. Bush as early as next week.

The final compromise legislation--approved by a vote of 405 to 7--leaves out a number of curbs that could have had a significant impact on the more than $4.5 billion spent annually on DTC ads.

Originally, both House and Senate leaders had suggested the FDA be allowed to ban ads for new drugs in a product's first two or three years and further proposed that all ads for new drugs carry a special logo and a warning that not all side effects may have been found. Jim Davidson, lobbyist for the ad and media groups, called the vote "one of the most significant victories for advertising and commercial speech in the past two decades."

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