Heel (corporation)

Logo

Heel is a developer, producer and distributor of homeopathic preparations. It was founded in 1936 by Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg. Heel has offices in 40 countries worldwide including the United States where it is located in Albuquerque, NM.

History

Dr. Reckeweg was a German physician, who received his medical degree in Berlin, who practiced homeopathy. In 1936, Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH was founded in Berlin to develop and market his preparations. In 1953 Reckweg moved the company to its present location in Baden-Baden. Between the companies founding year 1936 and 1979 (when Reckeweg relocated to Albuquerque) he developed over 1,000 different homeopathic preparations available through Heel GmbH. When Reckeweg relocated to Albuquerque he created Biological Homeopathic Industries (BHI) and began manufacturing combination remedies in tablet form. In 1997, the Albuquerque company was renamed Heel USA Inc, which now manufactures and distributes both BHI products and Heel products. Heel products are primarily marketed to practitioners, whereas BHI products are primarily marketed to consumers.

FDA violations

In 1984 BHI received letters and warnings from the Food and Drug Administration that it was in violation of FDA regulations in regards to marketing of homeopathic remedies.^[1] BHI was given multiple FDA citations and fines during the 1980s and early 1990s for violation of the Compliance Policy Guidelines labelling guidelines established by the FDA in 1988. These were corrected and have not recurred,^[2][3] though in August 2013 the company again agreed to dial down its health claims tied to its over-the-counter remedies and pay a $1 million class settlement to resolve accusations that it exaggerated the products’ effectiveness to consumers.^[4]

Criticism

In 2012, Heel was criticized for funding a German blogger who smears scientists critical of homeopathy.^[5][6]

References

1. Chastonay RJ. Request for limited inspection Re: Homeopathic Products. Memo, Oct 26, 1984
2. FDA Enforcement Report, March 25, 1992, p 6.
3. Health Fraud Actions, October 1993 - September 1994. Rockville, MD: FDA, 1994, p 3.
4. "Homeopathic Drugmaker Puts Up $1M To End False Ad Claims"
5. http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2012/07/german-homeopathy-companies-pay-journalist-who-smears-uk-academic.html
6. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/homoeopathie-lobby-im-netz-schmutzige-methoden-der-sanften-medizin-1.1397617