The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has dispatched warning letters to 15 firms, including foreign and domestic to desist from selling their illegally marketed diabetes products.
The latest move will help the regulator to curb the online and offline sale of diabetes' medicines, including some labeled as dietary supplements that claim to mitigate, treat, cure or prevent diabetes and related complications.
Certain products that contain undeclared active pharma ingredients are sold as OTC, which are gross violations of federal laws and put the public health on risk, the FDA said. Such products can cause delay seeking proper medical treatment for their diabetes.
Advising the general masses not to use such products, the FDA said these products may contain potentially harmful ingredients or may be otherwise unsafe.
FDA commissioner Dr Margaret Hamburg said that diabetes is a serious chronic condition that should be properly managed using safe and effective FDA-approved treatments.
"Consumers who buy violative products that claim to be treatments are not only putting themselves at risk but also may not be seeking necessary medical attention, which could affect their diabetes management," Hamburg added.
The FDA said that it will not tolerate marketing of illegal drugs and will take aggressive action against firms that sell illegal products claiming to treat diabetes.
