Archewell Foundation backs campaign against unchecked pharmaceutical ads targeting teens
Harry and Meghan Markle are lending their support to a young activist’s mission to bring greater accountability to the health and tech sectors.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation has pledged $2.4 million to Generation Patient, a youth-led health equity nonprofit founded by Sneha Dave, who began her advocacy at just 13 and is now 26.
The initiative follows Harry’s meeting with Dave at the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund conference in Brooklyn this April.
After their conversation, Dave publicly raised concerns about the growing influence of pharmaceutical ads targeting young users on social media.
"We don't know how the FDA works with these companies to try to flag to make sure there's not misinformation being spread by influencers advertising these prescription medications," she told TechCrunch.
Generation Patient is pushing for stronger oversight of how pharmaceutical content reaches teens on platforms where regulatory frameworks remain inconsistent.
Highlighting the cause on its website, the Archewell Foundation noted the nonprofit’s focus on “increasing oversight on pharmaceutical ads on social media.”
Dave — now the youngest principal investigator recognised by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute — also serves on the advisory board of the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund, amplifying the voices of young changemakers shaping responsible tech policy.
