By Wailin Wong | Deerfield-based pharmacy chain Walgreen Co. will pay nearly $6 million in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges of deceptive advertising for its “Wal-Born” dietary supplements.

The FTC already settled cases with CVS and Rite Aid last year over the same issue. The agency also settled in 2008 with Airborne Health Inc., the maker of the Airborne supplements on which the Wal-Born products were modeled. Advertising for these supplements used “baseless claims that (they) could prevent colds, fight germs and boost the immune system,” the FTC said in a statement.

The FTC said the $6 million Walgreens settlement includes a $1.2 million payment made to consumers as part of a separate class action lawsuit. Walgreens is also barred from saying its “products prevent or treat cold or flu symptoms, or protect against cold and flu viruses by boosting the immune system, unless there is scientific evidence to back up these claims.”

The agency said a federal court has also approved a separate settlement with the two principal officers of Improvita Health Products Inc., the maker of Wal-Born. The executives will pay a total $565,000 in the settlement and an FTC lawsuit against the company is pending.