June 12, 2003
Unither Pharma, Inc. and United Therapeutics Corporation have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they made deceptive claims in advertising for their HeartBar product.
The companies had claimed that HeartBar a chewy food bar and powder containing the amino acid L-Arginine reduces the risk of developing heart disease, reverses damage to the heart, reduces or eliminates heart disease patients need for surgery and medications, and substantially decreases leg pain in people with cardiovascular disease.
The FTC alleges that these claims were deceptive, in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, because they are not supported by scientific evidence. The proposed settlement announced today prohibits the respondents from repeating these type of claims for HeartBar and other L-Arginine products unless they have adequate scientific support.
According to the FTC, the respondents, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, sell and market an L-Arginine-based dietary supplement (and purported medical food) under the HeartBar brand name.
According to the complaint, the respondents made a number of unsubstantiated claims, such as the HeartBar decreases leg pain, prevents age-related vascular problems, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, and reduces or eliminates the need for surgery and medications among patients with cardiovascular disease. The complaint also alleges that the respondents falsely claimed that scientific studies prove that HeartBar decreases angina pain by 70 percent and leg pain by 66 percent, and reverses the effects of high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, and estrogen deficiency on the heart.
The respondents products are HeartBar, HeartBar Plus, and HeartBar Sport. Since at least 1999, the respondents have advertised on cookepharma.com and unither.com Web sites, and in print media, such as Readers Digest, Modern Maturity, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Sun-Times and others.
The proposed consent agreement to settle the charges prohibits the respondents from making the challenged unsubstantiated claims for HeartBar or any other product containing L-Arginine used in or marketed for the treatment, cure, or prevention of cardiovascular disease. It also prohibits unsubstantiated health benefits, performance, and efficacy claims for any food, medical food, or dietary supplement used in the marketing of a treatment, cure, or prevention of cardiovascular disease, as well as misrepresentations concerning tests, studies or research.
The proposed consent order further requires that the respondents contact all of their distributors and sellers and request that they immediately stop using any false or deceptive advertisements for HeartBar, and that they notify the Commission of any distributors who continue to make claims that the order prohibits.
The proposed settlement allows the respondents to use certain claims for foods that the Food and Drug Administration approved for labels through its regulations under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, and certain claims for drugs that the FDA approved.
