The US Food and Drug Administration said yesterday it had ordered the seizure of hundreds of bottles of a dietary supplement that the agency said falsely claimed to treat autism.
US marshals raided Humphrey Laboratories of Lake Oswego, Oregon, doing business as Kirkman Laboratories, and took away bottles of Kirkman's HypoAllergenic Taurine Capsules, the agency said.
"FDA seized these products because they violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act," the agency said in a statement. "In accordance with the Act, all dietary supplement products' labelling must be truthful and not misleading and may not make any claims that the product will cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease."
"Consequently, the claims that the capsules treat autism caused the firm's product to be a misbranded food and an unapproved new drug."
Autism is a complex brain disorder that causes a range of behavioural symptoms. It is not fully understood and there is no approved drug treatment for it.
The FDA said it tracked down the company from its Internet site.