Kim Kardashian Instagram post promoting drug slapped with FDA complaint

By Fusion Staff  |  August 11, 2015 | 8:53pm
Latest

Few would dare criticize a Kim Kardashian Instagram post and expect to not attract a flock of haters—the U.S. government faces no such risk.

Which is why on Aug. 7, the Food and Drug Administration issued a complaint to Duchesnay, the maker of a morning-sickness drug, for having the reality TV star promote their product on her social media accounts (she also did a Facebook post), without stating any of the drug’s risks.

In the Instagram post, Kardashian, who is pregnant, said Diclegis, had made her “feel a lot better” and added that, “It’s been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby.”

The problem is, according to the nearly 400-word warning on Duchesnay’s website, the drug does have other side effects, like drowsiness, and has not been tested on women with hyperemesis gravidarum, which Kate Middleton went through during her first pregnancy.

The FDA says all this should have been somewhere in Kardashian’s posts—or that she shouldn’t have posted them at all.

“The social media post is false or misleading in that it presents efficacy claims for DICLEGIS, but fails to communicate any risk information associated with its use and it omits material facts,” the complaint states. “Thus, the social media post misbrands DICLEGIS within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and makes its distribution violative.”

Kardashian has since removed the post but here it is, thanks to CNBC:

The FDA complaint also restates the text of the post, making it possibly among the first government documents to feature the phrase “OMG.”

Celebrities commonly endorse products on Instagram, although it is rare that they promote prescription drugs.

The agency is demanding Duchesnay remove all promotional posts about the drug immediately.

Duchesnay said in a statement that it “takes its regulatory responsibilities very seriously,” and acknowledged the problem,  according to CNBC.

A Kardashian rep told Fusion that the language in the posts had been approved by Duchesnay and that they are the responsible party in the matter.

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.

 
Join the discussion...