the Medicines Agency orders three companies to suspend their illegal advertising in France

Alerted a month ago by its European counterparts, the Medicines Agency took this health policy measure against the Irish companies Immucura and Immunyo, and the Swiss Iaso Health GmbH.

The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products has taken health police decisions against three companies accused of illegally promoting cancer therapies, it announced in a press release on Thursday, November 28. The three companies involved are Immucura, Immunyo and Iaso Health GmbH. According to the Medicines Agency, they promote “on their websites and social networks” of the “dendritic cell therapies not authorized in France”. These are therapies using dendritic cells, cells of the immune system having a major role in warning against attacks.

These companies “unfoundedly present their treatment as an effective solution against cancer and as having a very favorable and non-invasive safety profile” since“it would have no adverse effects”. However, explains the Medicines Agency, dendritic cell therapy used in the treatment of cancer “meets the definition of a medicinal product but has not been the subject of a marketing authorization (AMM) in France or in Europe”.

Clinical studies are being carried out, particularly in France, but no marketing authorization has been granted at this stage. A treatment that does not have marketing authorization “may present health risks and constitute a loss of opportunity for the patient who would forgo validated treatments in this context”.

The Medicines Safety Agency therefore orders these three companies based in Ireland, Germany and Switzerland to put an end to their promotional campaign and calls on the patients concerned to speak with their oncologist, as Alexandre de La Volpilière explains. , in charge of operations at ANSM. He repeats that “these therapies are not evaluated, at least those presented by these three companies”. According to him, they are therefore likely to “endanger patients”.

“It is important that we can immediately suspend this advertising and prevent patients from turning to this type of therapy which is not evaluated either in France or at European level.”

Alexandre de La Volpilière, operations manager at ANSM

at franceinfo

The ANSM therefore takes health policy decisions against these three companies, in particular for “suspend illegal advertising of this therapy until it complies with regulations relating to the drug”. The agency adds that it is continuing “investigations related to [ses] European counterparts” and reserves the right “to refer the matter to the public prosecutor” and to carry out “a report on the official portal for reporting illegal internet content (Pharos)”.