| Doctor Atomic 2006-07-15, 9:21 pm |
| 'FDA issues warning on 'natural' impotence pills
Supplements contain same active ingredient as prescription drugs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some products touted on the Internet as natural
alternatives to impotence drugs such as Viagra illegally contain the same
active ingredients as the prescription medicines, the Food and Drug
Administration says.
The FDA warned consumers not to buy or use seven of the so-called dietary
supplements, sold online to treat impotence and enhance sexual performance.
The list includes a product called Zimaxx, which FDA testing showed contains
sildenafil, the same active ingredient in Viagra. Viagra, made by Pfizer
Inc., is sold only by prescription in the United States.
A message left for Herbal Remedies USA, a Casper, Wyoming-based company that
sells Zimaxx on its Web site, was not immediately returned. The FDA has sent
the company and five others letters that warn they are marketing illegal
drugs based on the claims made for the products or their ingredients.
The other products named by the FDA are: Libidus, Neophase, Nasutra,
Vigor-25, Actra-Rx and 4Everon. Chemical analyses showed the products
contain either chemical ingredients that are similar to sildenafil or a
second drug called vardenafil, the FDA said. Vardenafil is the active
ingredient in Levitra, an impotence drug sold by GlaxoSmithKline PLC and
Schering-Plough Corp.
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