CellMark Hit With Consent Decree Over Cancer Treatment Ads

The Federal Trade Commission took CellMark Biopharma to federal court for falsely advertising two of its supplements as “clinically proven” to treat cancer and cancer treatment side effects.

The FTC said the company used drug claims to advertise its dietary supplement products — CellAssure and Cognify — as proven to fight cancer-related malnutrition and cognitive impairment caused by cancer treatment, respectively, when no human clinical studies were undertaken to prove the drugs’ effectiveness for these uses.

CellMark agreed to a consent order banning the company from any involvement in manufacturing of products that treat, cure, mitigate or prevent cancer, cancer-related malnutrition or cachexia, cognitive dysfunctions caused by cancer, cancer symptoms or side effects — unless they use non-misleading representation and provide reliable evidence to substantiate it.