The Natural Products Foundation (NPF), Washington, D.C., has added a new member to the NPF Legal Advisory Council: William Garvin of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney PC.

Mr. Garvin focuses his practice on issues related to the approval, regulation, promotion, sale and reimbursement of drugs, medical devices, biologics, excipients, dietary supplements and foods. His work includes challenging administrative agency actions through correspondence, citizen petitions and litigation. He has extensive experience in assisting companies with complying and contesting administrative agency actions and regulations at both the federal and state level.

Prior to joining Buchanan, Mr. Garvin was an associate with a boutique law firm in Washington, D.C. where he worked on matters related to ensuring that foods, drugs, dietary supplements, medical devices and cosmetics complied with federal and state laws.

The NPF Legal Advisory Council (LAC) is composed of attorneys who volunteer their time to help improve the dietary supplement industry’s advertising practices. LAC members are instrumental in NPF’s Truth in Advertising work, supervising the highly successful review component of the program. Current council members include Marc Ullman (Ullman, Shapiro & Ullman), Jackie Kuler (Gronek & Associates), Nicholas Licato (Nexgen Pharma), Jim Prochnow (Greenberg Traurig) and Justin Prochnow (Greenberg Traurig)

“I am honored to be invited to join the NPF’s Legal Advisory Council,” said Mr. Garvin. “I believe in the NPF’s goal of educating the industry and ensuring that all dietary supplement companies continue to comply with the law. NPF’s successful self-regulation of the dietary supplement industry helps ensure this economic sectors’ continued growth.”

The NPF Truth in Advertising Review Program is a pro-active effort that identifies non-compliant dietary supplement promotions and provides education outreach to ensure industry members comply with Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) regulations. Since 2010, NPF has reviewed 500 advertising cases, mailed more than 300 warning letters to companies marketing dietary supplements with drug- and disease-related statements, and worked with 225 companies to improve marketing policies.