High Blood Pressure

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday sent a stern warning to drug maker Forest Laboratories about claims raised in advertisements for one of Forest’s high blood pressure medications. An eight page ad for the drug Bystolic (nebivolol) claims that the drug is superior to other high blood pressure treatments and that it works in a novel way to combat the problems of high blood pressure.

The FDA disagrees, saying that there have never been any studies comparing Bystolic to other, similar, medicines, and that the claims made in Forest’s advertisements cannot be substantiated with evidence.

On the FDA website Tuesday, a spokesperson commented that Forest’s claims were dangerous to the public because they suggest “that Bystolic is safer and more effective” than it actually is.

Nebivolol is a type of beta blocker, one the most commonly prescribed medicines for the treatment of high blood pressure and heart disease.

FDA Warns Drug Maker Over Misleading Ads originally appeared on About.com High Blood Pressure on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 07:53:50.

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