Future of Marketing Homeopathic Remedies in Doubt

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Future of Marketing Homeopathic Remedies in Doubt
Original article by Slade Cutter, Affiliate Magazine
Commentary by Sara Szado
January 20, 2016

Although some early studies appeared to support the efficacy of homeopathy, these initial findings have been thoroughly refuted in a wide range of scientifically-controlled clinical studies.

The most recent of these was a meta-study completed last year by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. This study rigorously examined the procedures and results of 1,800 other studies and concluded that homeopathic remedies are no more effective than placebos, and the theory of “water memory” has no basis in science.

Despite this scientific smackdown, homeopathic medicine has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry in the US, with significant sales driven through affiliate marketing. This has been possible because the Senate sponsor of the 1938 federal law governing manufacture and marketing of drugs was a prominent New York homeopathic physician who specifically exempted homeopathic remedies from many of the rules regulating other drugs.

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has noted on multiple occasions that the FDA’s requirement that homeopathic marketers specify an indication for use even when there’s no supporting evidence for that use conflicts with the FTC’s commonsense requirement that all health claims be substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence.

This interagency regulatory disconnect, along with the recent rapid growth in the homeopathic industry, has prompted the agencies to work together to find a solution. To that end, the FTC held a workshop on homeopathic marketing in September 2015, and the FDA closed an extensive public comment period regarding the regulatory framework for homeopathic medicines in November 2015.

There are a number of ways the agencies might address the regulatory question, but preserving the status quo is very unlikely. Consequently, any marketers relying on revenue from homeopathic products should stay tuned because there are big changes coming soon.

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