On April 7, 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration issued
Warning Letters to six U.S. based
medspas and a company in Brazil for making false or misleading statements on their Web sites about drugs they claimed will eliminate fat in a procedure called "lipodissolve", or for otherwise misbranding lipodissolve products. "We are concerned that these companies are misleading consumers", said
Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "It is important for anyone who is considering this voluntary procedure to understand that the products used to perform lipodissolve procedures are not approved by the FDA for fat removal". For the complete FDA statement, see here To see the warning letter, see [https://web.archive.org/web/20100410031153/http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm207642.htm. The FDA received reports of adverse effects in persons who had the procedure using these drugs, including permanent scarring, skin deformation, and deep painful knots under the skin in areas where the lipodissolve products have been injected. The warning letters were issued to the following U.S. companies: Monarch Medspa, King of Prussia, Pa; Spa 35, Boise, Idaho; Medical Cosmetic Enhancements, Chevy Chase, Md.; Innovative Directions in Health, Edina, Minn PURE Med Spa, Boca Raton, Fl.; and All About You Med Spa, Madison, Ind. The Brazilian company receiving a warning letter markets lipodissolve products on two Web sites: zipmed.net and mesoone.com. The FDA is requesting a written response from the U.S. companies within 15 business days of receipt of the warning letters stating how they will correct these violations and prevent similar violations in the future. Each U.S. company has been informed in its warning letter that failure to promptly correct the violations may result in legal action. Each of the companies involved has been cited for a variety of regulatory violations, including making unsupported claims that the products have an outstanding safety record and are superior to other fat loss procedures, including
liposuction. Additionally some of the letters indicate that the companies have made claim that lipodissolve products can be used to treat certain medical conditions, such as male breast enlargement, benign fatty growths known as lipomas, excess fat deposits and surgical deformities. The FDA is not aware of clinical evidence to support any of these claims. ==International regulation==