The FDA has called on Eli Lilly to stop running journal ads for Cymbalta as a treatment for nerve pain caused by diabetes because the ads fail to reveal risks of the drug’s use.
In a letter posted on the FDA’s Web site last week, the agency said that ads are considered Cymbalta promotion even though their main panels don’t mention the drug. Cymbalta, also used as an antidepressant, has risks including dementia if used with older antidepressants known as monoamine oxidase inhibitors.
It can also spur allergic reactions, the FDA said. A Lilly spokesperson told the Bloomberg news agency that the ads appeared in the fourth quarter of 2004 and first quarter of 2005 but won’t appear again.