Congressman Calls For Federal Crackdown On Unproven Coronavirus Treatment

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Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, is calling on the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate sales of a non-FDA approved drug marketed as a treatment for COVID-19.

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The Coronavirus Crisis
Web Of ‘Wellness’ Doctors Promote Injections Of Unproven Coronavirus Treatment

Fradin-Read is known for her work with the actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness brand Goop. Fradin-Read helped formulate a dietary supplement called «Madame Ovary for the brand. She also runs the practice VitaLifeMD, and had falsely marketed thymosin alpha-1 as an «FDA approved drug, which she claimed was «one of the best ways to prevent and fight COVID-19.

«Such false claims appear to be illegal and ought to be subject to strict enforcement by FDA and FTC, Krishnamoorthi wrote in his letter to the leaders of those agencies. «I ask you to open an investigation into VitaLifeMD, and to take all appropriate action against VitaLifeMD and its principals.

Fradin-Read did not respond to messages from NPR for this story. But she has previously defended prescriptions of the drug, saying she had prescribed it to members of her staff, her mother, and had even taken it herself without any negative effects.

The FTC and FDA are responsible for enforcing laws against false and misleading advertising. A spokesperson for the FTC declined to comment, and the FDA did not respond to a message NPR.

Earlier on in the pandemic, Krishnamoorthi called on the Trump Administration to take action against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of InfoWars for marketing colloidal silver-infused toothpastes as a supposed COVID-19 prevention measure. (The National Institutes of Health say colloidal silver is not safe or effective for treating any condition, and can even permanently turn a person’s skin blue at high doses.) The FDA then warned Jones that such claims were misleading and could violate federal law.

Krishnamoorthi’s current letter faults the Trump Administration for failing to effectively deter scams that prey on people’s fears, calling the government’s enforcement thus far «piecemeal.

«Amid an unprecedented public health and economic crisis, Krishnamoorthi wrote, «we cannot allow unscrupulous manufacturers and providers to deceive consumers into purchasing expensive, ineffective, and potentially dangerous ‘miracle cures.'