Celebrity Promotions of Prescription Drugs Highlight Gaps in Federal Oversight, MGB Experts Find

Who

Nils Krüger, MD, MPH, Investigator, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at Mass General Brigham

Lead author of “When Celebrities Prescribe — Regulating Drug Promotion on the Internet,” published in The New England Journal of Medicine

What

As drug advertising expands into social media, celebrity endorsements and influencer campaigns of medications are increasingly shaping public perceptions and driving patient demand. These efforts—particularly for GLP-1s—often fall outside existing regulations, raising concerns about misleading information and inadequate disclosure of risks.

A new commentary by Nils Krüger, MD, MPH, of Mass General Brigham, and colleagues examines how social media and celebrity promotion of prescription drugs are exposing gaps in the FDA’s oversight system for patient-facing content. The authors argue that current regulations have not kept pace with the digital media landscape and call for stronger guardrails, including updated disclosure requirements and expanded oversight of influencers and telehealth companies involved in prescription drug promotion.

One recent study they reviewed found that seven in ten prescribers have been approached by patients about a medication they saw on social media, with nearly half prescribing the product. Another analysis found that only one-third of high engagement social media posts that reached 57+ million viewers disclosed the potential risks of the prescription drugs they promoted.

“The distinction between health information and drug advertising is becoming increasingly blurred online,” said Krüger. “As social media influences the medications patients seek, we need updated regulations to ensure patients receive balanced information about benefits and risks—especially when some heavily marketed drugs have potentially serious side effects.”

About Nils Krüger

Nils Krüger is a physician data scientist developing and applying causal inference methods to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of cardiovascular treatments in clinical practice using complex longitudinal healthcare databases. His work has helped advance the understanding of the effects of GLP-1 medicines in clinical practice and has informed international treatment guidelines. Most recently, his work was named Research of the Year by the Journal of the American Medical Association.