The Department of Justice announced that a federal court has entered a temporary restraining order against Xephyr LLC, doing business as N-Ergetics, and three individuals associated with the entity, requiring them to immediately stop distributing colloidal silver products. The defendants offered these products for sale to treat coronavirus, which includes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and many other diseases.
The department’s complaint alleges that defendants are introducing unapproved new drugs into interstate commerce and that their disease-related treatment claims are unsupported by any well-controlled clinical studies or other credible scientific substantiation. Additionally, the complaint asserts that, because defendants’ products do not have adequate directions for lay users, the products are misbranded.
The DOJ said that in response to the department’s filing, the defendants immediately took down their sales site. In addition, they have posted a message offering refunds to their customers.
Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services and Chief Counsel of FDA Stacy Amin said “Xephyr’s claims that their unapproved colloidal silver products can cure, mitigate, prevent or treat COVID-19, or other diseases like cholera, diabetes, cancer and AIDS, will not be tolerated. Americans expect and deserve medical treatments that have been scientifically proven to be safe and effective, especially during this ongoing pandemic.”
The defendants, Brad Brand, Derill J. Fussell and Linda Fussell, will have a hearing May 21. On March 6, the FDA issued a warning letter advising them to cease and desist from offering products promising to cure or treat COVID-19. Though they temporarily removed colloidal silver from their website, they started promoting it again through their website by the end of April.
On March 6, according to the New York Times, the FDA had advised not just Xephyr but 6 other companies to stop selling colloidal silver and other products with a promise they would prevent or treat coronavirus.