Metabolife
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
FDA should establish a "new working group composed of scientists, agency experts, consumers, herbalists and industry to design a better system for reporting suspected adverse health events" related to dietary and herbal supplement use, Metabolife International CEO Michael Ellis states in an Aug. 11 letter to Commissioner Jane Henney, MD. Metabolife markets the ephedra weight loss product Metabolife 356; the letter comes close on the heels of the GAO report concerning FDA's proposed rule restricting the use of ephedrine alkaloids in dietary supplements (1"The Tan Sheet" Aug. 9, pp. 3-5). FDA's AER system for dietary supplements also was the subject of a House Government Reform Committee hearing May 27 (2"The Tan Sheet" May 31, pp. 3-5)