Atlus, Mamamia and News Life Media face court for alleged unlawful advertising of medicinal cannabis

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against AG Therapeutics Pty Ltd (trading as Atlus) and its sole director (Dr Shimal Jobanputra), Mamamia.com.au Pty Ltd (Mamamia), News Life Media Pty Ltd (News Life) and Straight Up PR Pty Ltd (Straight Up) for advertising medicinal cannabis in alleged contravention of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth) (the Act).

The TGA alleges that Atlus unlawfully advertised medicinal cannabis on its website and social media pages, including via a range of euphemisms, such as ‘plant medicine’. The Atlus website also allegedly promoted the use of medicinal cannabis for the treatment of serious diseases, conditions or disorders. Such references are known as restricted or prohibited representations and are not allowed to be included in advertising for therapeutic goods unless an approval or permission is given by the TGA.

Further, Mamamia and News Life, on its website ‘Body + Soul’, allegedly published online articles that unlawfully advertised medicinal cannabis, following a public relations campaign by Atlus. The articles allegedly included several restricted and prohibited representations.

The TGA alleges that the articles also included testimonials and endorsements from individuals who were prohibited from giving them by the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code, including a nurse in Mamamia’s article and a doctor in News Life’s article. Additionally, the Mamamia article allegedly included a testimonial from a relative of a person involved in the marketing of medicinal cannabis at Atlus.

Dr Jobanputra was allegedly an accessory to the unlawful advertising in the articles because he facilitated their preparation and approved their publication. Atlus and Straight Up allegedly caused the unlawful advertising in the articles by arranging for their publication.

Professor Anthony Lawler, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and head of the TGA, said that “we allege that Atlus, Mamamia and News Life had been warned on multiple occasions in relation to the alleged unlawful advertising of therapeutic goods.

“Advertising prescription medicines to the public can create an inappropriate demand for these medicines and undermine the relationship between a patient and their treating health practitioner. Appropriate treatment options should be determined by a health professional in consultation with their patient.

“We continue to take enforcement action against the alleged unlawful import, export, supply, manufacture and advertising of therapeutic goods, including medicinal cannabis products”.

The TGA is seeking declarations and pecuniary penalties against Atlus, Mamamia, News Life, Straight Up and Dr Jobanputra.

Further information about the alleged advertising breaches can be found in the:

While this matter is before the Court, the TGA will not be commenting further.

If you suspect non-compliance in relation to the advertising of therapeutic goods, you can report it to the TGA at any time.

Contact for members of the media:

• Email: news@health.gov.au
• Phone: 02 6289 7400

Background

While the Act does not prohibit the advertising of health services, the promotion of the use or supply of therapeutic goods, such as prescription medicines, is prohibited.

Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medicine in Australia. It is unlawful to:

• advertise prescription medicines directly to the public
• include prohibited or restricted representations in an advertisement unless an approval or permission is given by the TGA
• include testimonials and endorsements from certain people (such as health practitioners) in an advertisement.

Advertising is not limited to a specific type of media, and the legal requirements under the Act apply to anyone promoting the use or supply of a therapeutic good. This includes media outlets, public relations firms and health service providers.

Restricted and prohibited representations are unlawful to protect consumers from potentially harmful claims or engaging in self-diagnosis and treatment of serious conditions. The Act also prohibits endorsements and testimonials from certain people, including current and former health practitioners, to avoid unrealistic expectations for consumers which may pose a risk to health.

Businesses have a responsibility to understand their legal obligations under the Act before advertising or supplying therapeutic goods.