Meridia Side Effects

Meridia Side Effects News

October 1, 2003 BREAKING NEWS!!
"Abbott’s Meridia continues to be plagued with deadly and dangerous side effects"
Meridia has continued to receive negative press regarding the serious and deadly side effects that have been reported. Public Citizen already renewed the call for federal regulators to ban Meridia in the beginning of September. According to the consumer advocacy group, since March 2002 when it initially petitioned the FDA to ban Meridia, it had found an additional 30 cardiovascular deaths in Meridia patients.

The Meridia side effects only added to the already cited 49 Meridia deaths and 124 Meridia hospitalizations due to serious heart and cardiovascular problems. All Meridia patients must be closely monitored for increased heart rate and blood pressure. If discontinuing Meridia use, any lost weight will be regained.

Most of the Meridia deaths have occurred in patients under 50 years of age and the result are considered too minimal considering the drug’s risks according to Meridia critics. The FDA spokeswoman has said in response to Public Citizen’s renewed Meridia ban request that the agency had already begun after the actual Meridia petition an additional review comparing adverse event reports for Meridia.

For more information on Meridia contact us to confer with a Meridia lawyer.

September 3, 2003 BREAKING NEWS!!
"Public Citizen issues public statement criticizing FDA’s failure to ban Meridia"
The Public Citizen consumer group has called upon the FDA once again for the immediate ban of Meridia diet pill from the market. Originally calling upon the agency to ban Meridia in a March 2002 petition, the watchdog group has been critical of the failure to take adequate safety actions. With “new evidence of a rapidly growing number of deaths and serious adverse reactions” linked to Meridia, Public Citizen believes there is “no justification in continuing to market a drug that provides minimal weight reduction while increasing the likelihood of injury and death” (citizen.org 9/3/03).

The group added that the original 2002 petition did not address the effect Meridia can have on a developing fetus. According to new analysis, Meridia has been linked to spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and congenital malformations, including heart and central nervous system in the fetus when Meridia is used with pregnant women. During animal studies before Meridia was approved, the same link between Meridia use and developing fetus impacts were witnessed.

The FDA has sufficient evidence for a Meridia ban to be issued already, according to the group, based on dangerous increases in blood pressure. Before Meridia approval an FDA advisory committee voted in 1997 against the approval of Meridia because of safety concerns. The allowance of Meridia to remain on the market is troubling because “the number of victims is rising rapidly and the effectiveness in treating obesity is meager” according to Public Citizen Health Research Group director.

For more information on Meridia contact us to confer with a Meridia lawyer.


April 8, 2003
"New Meridia Studies"
New Meridia studies will be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s April 9th issue. A study was performed by researchers at the Weight and Eating Disorders Program of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as the first controlled trial in overweight teenagers using Meridia.

The Meridia study investigated 82 adolescents between ages 13 and 17 with an average weight of 228 pounds. While the study concluded Meridia was an aid in decreasing the level of hunger amongst the study participants, leading to an average weight loss of 23 pounds, Meridia has worrisome side effects associated to the weight loss drug.

Meridia side effects in the study included both increased blood pressure and an increased pulse rate. Since overweight people already have increased risk for high blood pressure and stressors resulting in increased pulse rate, as is, the addition of Meridia could be a potentially serious situation. In March 2002, the Public Citizen consumer group sent the FDA a petition for the immediate ban of Meridia due to the 29 deaths linked to Meridia, including 19 of the deaths caused by cardiovascular events.

Currently, Meridia is available to just adults 16 and older. The FDA advisers voted 5-4 against the approval of Meridia, however the FDA still approved the drug despite the concerns of elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate. Again in May 2002, Public Citizen sent a letter urging Meridia be banned after the group pointed to FDA evidence showing Meridia maker Abbott Laboratories had failed to provide accurate information regarding Meridia, making claims unsupported by source data or with missing additional information found in the source data.

If you have suffered adverse side effects from Meridia weight loss pills, please contact us to speak with a Meridia Lawyer.

• What is Meridia weight loss pill?
• When was Meridia weight loss pill approved?
• Is Meridia weight loss pill different than the recalled drug Fen Phen?

FDA Petitioned to Ban Meridia Weight Loss Pill

On March 19, 2002, the Public Citizen consumer group petitioned the FDA for the immediate ban of Meridia weight loss pill. This is Public Citizen's fifth petition it has filed with the FDA to ban a drug since 1996. The group's petition came after they called Meridia weight loss pill "unacceptably dangerous" and referred to the 29 deaths that have resulted since Meridia's launch in the beginning of 1998. Of the 29 deaths that Public Citizen cited from the FDA database, 19 of the deaths were caused by cardiovascular adverse side effects of Meridia weight loss pills.

To view the Public Citizen petition
click here «