The ubiquitous radio ads pushing awareness of so-called non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder are a ploy by a Washington, D.C., pharmaceutical company to gin up customers for its new drug, according to experts.

“This is something made up by a drug company,” said Dr. Clifford Saper, chairman of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “They’re making a big deal out of it. They’re hoping patients will hear it on the radio and ask their doctors for it.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month approved a drug from Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. to treat non-24 in people who are totally blind and cannot perceive light. People who can’t see light have trouble keeping a 24-hour cycle; they have trouble staying asleep at night and awake during the day.

The characteristics of non-24 have been well-known for many years, but the name is just marketing, according to Saper. “This only applies to a tiny percentage of blind people,” he said.

Vanda’s radio ads don’t mention the company’s name or its new drug, Hetlioz. They encourage people to go to a website or call a hotline to learn more about non-24 disorder, which also don’t mention the drug. A Vanda spokeswoman confirmed the company is behind the ads and said they’re part of an “unbranded disease awareness effort.”

The FDA has limited power over ads that don’t discuss specific drugs, but it can refer them to the Federal Trade Commission if it believes they’re false or misleading, FDA spokeswoman Andrea Fischer said.

Disease awareness ads are a common but misleading tactic of drug com­panies, said Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic, who follows drug adver­tising. “They do this with the idea that if they increase awareness of a disorder it will lead to more use of their product … it will draw traffic to their drug,” Nissen said.

Joyce Breda of Quincy is totally blind and said she wants to try Vanda’s drug when it’s on the market this spring. “A lot of nights, I’m awake for hours,” said Breda, 61. “I would assume it’s because of my circadian rhythm.”

Breda said the non-24 ads help educate people about the disorder.

“Any ad talking about potential treatments could be helpful,” said Kyle Robidoux of the Massachusetts Association for the Blind. “It’s also important to make sure there is transparency of who’s behind the ads.”