ATLANTA (CN) - A federal appeals court heard arguments Tuesday from a pharmaceutical company that claims it shouldn't have to pay the Federal Trade Commission a $40 million judgment for violating an injunction.

Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, a Georgia corporation, manufactures and sells dietary supplements. In 2004, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against the company and its officers, Jared Wheat and Stephen Smith, for allegedly making weight-loss and other health-related efficacy claims about three dietary supplements without adequate scientific evidence.

The district court held that Hi-Tech's efficacy claims should have been supported by “independent, well-designed, well-conducted, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials" and was unpersuaded by the company's arguments that that kind of testing is only required for drugs and not supplements.

Hi-Tech was ordered to pay $15.9 million is disgorgement and consumer redress, which has since been fully collected. The court also entered a permanent injunction prohibiting the company from further violating the Federal Trade Commission Act and from making future efficacy claims about any dietary supplement without “competent and reliable scientific evidence” to back them up.

However, years later, the FTC accused them of violating the injunction by making unsubstantiated efficacy claims about four new weight-loss supplements. After multiple hearings and appeals, the district court entered an order and...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMic2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNvdXJ0aG91c2VuZXdz...