Botanova ads scrutinized
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency upholds three advertising complaints filed last fall against German pharmaceutical company Pascoe Pharmazeutische Praparate GmbH. The complaints allege marketing for Botanova (St. John's wort, passion flower and valerian) misleads consumers. The British Herbal Medicine Association and Schwabe Pharma complained Pascoe ads inappropriately touted Botanova has improved efficacy over other products. The claims violate U.K. ad requirements for traditional herbal medicines. BHMA also complained that Botanova press materials incorrectly said the product is not associated with drug-drug interactions. Pascoe revised the materials and confirmed future marketing material will comply with the U.K. requirements for advertising of registered traditional herbal medicines, according to notices MHRA posted July 17