FDA Orders Roche To Halt Xenical Ad

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration told a U.S. unit of Roche Group to stop running a television commercial that promotes its weight-loss drug Xenical but “lacks fair balance” information such as a listing of side effects, Friday’s Wall Street Journal reported.

This is the sixth time in four years that Roche has been cited for its weight-loss drug promotions.

In a letter sent to Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. and dated in March but only recently posted on the FDA’s Web site, the agency said the commercial effectively promoted Xenical without using the drug’s name.