Last year the TGA was ridiculed after it officially endorsed a string of clinical indications for complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) — ranging from “moistening dryness in the triple burner” to “tonifying the kidney essence”.
But it turns out the nation’s medicines regulator rejected about 3000 clinical indications suggested by Australia’s thriving CAM industry.
According to a new report published on Thursday, the makers of non-evidence-based pills and potions wanted to sell the public therapeutic goods that promised to “relieve the stuffy” or “nourish blood to calm fetus”.
The TGA experts rejected “relieve the stuffy” on the grounds that it was not a therapeutic indication.
Likewise, “warm meridian/channel, dissipate cold, nourish blood to calm fetus” was knocked back, along with a host of other indications — including “expel fluid retention by purgation”, “cool blood to stop bleeding” and “disperse pathogens” — for implying the power the treat a serious condition.
The regulator also refused to endorse another clinical indication promising the treatment would “awaken the spirit”.
All up, the TGA rejected 3039 potential indications proposed by industry groups, including:
- 36 that were noncompliant with the advertising code
- 75 for being biomarker indications
- 316 for containing or implying an indication for a serious condition such as ADHD, asthma, depression or coeliac disease
- Six that were non-compliant with sunscreen standards
- 262 that were deemed to not be therapeutic indications
- 21 that had an unclear therapeutic health benefit
- 11 that referred or implied treatment, cure or prevention
- 2311 rejected for being too similar to indications already on the list
