Meridia Lawsuit News

Meridia Lawsuit News

May 21, 2002
On May 21, 2002, Public Citizen issued a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to strongly urge them to bring criminal charges against Abbott Laboratories for "illegally withholding from the FDA important information concerning eight deaths and other adverse effects of the big-selling obesity drug, Meridia weight loss pill, a drug we asked you to ban in March of this year." Public Citizen said they had gathered the information from a recent FDA inspection of Abbott facilities that indicated the pharmaceutical company had not reported one Meridia death and record of seven other deaths were inaccurate, unsupported, or incomplete.

Drug companies are required to report any serious events with patients taking their drugs, and while Abbott continues to stand by Meridia weight loss pill, they have denied the evidence linking the diet pill to the reported deaths. Public Citizen said the case files that contain information following up with the Meridia deaths were missing and some records were not maintained for the required time frame with adverse Meridia side effects.

Public Citizen feels that if companies are not criminally prosecuted it will continue to allow patients to be harmed. They attribute the FDA inspection findings to "reveal an Abbott scheme to conceal important information that could establish the causal role of sibutramine (Meridia) in the deaths of specific patients using the drug." The 29 U.S. deaths from Meridia weight loss pills are now being investigated and the FDA claims they are seriously investigating each allegation of unreported Meridia deaths.

To view the entire Public Citizen letter click here

May 22, 2002
Americans continue to fight weight problems that have cost Americans a hundred billion dollars last year in over-the-counter diet aids. Most remedies have ended in failure, allowing the search for the newest breakthrough in diet pills to continue. The first miracle drug Fen Phen was an initial success that ended up being a disaster with a high number of deaths and serious side effects, like Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. Sibutramine (Meridia) followed Fen Phen's enormous failure but is now under the spotlight after many critics claim it offers very little weight loss benefits in addition to the increased heart rates and blood pressure that have been associated to 28 U.S. sibutramine deaths. These FDA approved diet pills shows that the future of weight loss does not rest safe even with a stamp from the FDA.

March 28, 2002
Canada is now joining the U.S. and Europe by launching an investigation on sibutramine (Meridia) that is currently used by 9,000 Canadians. Canadian health officials have received 28 reports of adverse events associated with sibutramine in the last year, including increased blood pressure, chest pain, stroke, and vision disturbances. After reviewing the national and international safety information on sibutramine the Canadian health officials will then make a decision on the future of sibutramine.

March 22, 2002
Public Citizen consumer group has asked the FDA to ban sibutramine (Meridia) because the drug is associated with 29 deaths and 397 serious side effects. In addition, Public Citizen finds that sibutramine offers only a small benefit while costing serious health risks. Abbott Laboratories has admitted that at least 32 patients have died while taking sibutramine but that around 9 million people have used sibutramine in the last five years.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the Public Citizen Health Research Group says there are FDA documents linking sibutramine to nearly 400 serious bad reactions from Feb. 98- Sept. 01. Controversy surrounds sibutramine due to the previous vote by the FDA's own advisory committee that voted 5-4 against approving the drug that the FDA overruled a year later. Italy has banned their brand name of sibutramine (Reductil) already after 50 reports of adverse side effects, and sibutramine is under fire by health officials in Europe. British health authorities associated two deaths and 212 reports of suspected adverse reactions in sibutramine patients, and French drug regulators reported 99 instances of sibutramine side effects, 10 of them being serious.

The sibutramine situation follows the September 1997 Fen Phen and Redux recall due to the heart valve problems that resulted. Used by 8.5 million people worldwide and sold in 70 countries, sibutramine has quickly been accepted by dieters everywhere. This is Public Citizen's fifth petition with the FDA to ban a drug since1996. Wolfe predicts sibutramine will be banned in the future saying the diet pill "should have never been put on the market- the advisory committee and the physician in charge of the drug both recommended against approval. This is a mistake that is being corrected."

March 15, 2002
Two patients taking Reductil, the marketed name of sibutramine in Europe, in Britain have died in addition to the 200 others suffering adverse reactions. Italy suspended sales of sibutramine last week after reports of health problems, including two fatalities. The Pharmaceutical Commission in Italy decided sibutramine's beneficial effects must be reevaluated.

March 7, 2002
Italy has suspended sibutramine (Meridia) that can lead to a Europe-wide review of the diet pill. Italy's Health Ministry said that it was immediately withdrawing all sibutramine products because of the 50 reports of health related problems. Italy's move is the first move involving sibutramine since its approval in 1997.

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

FDA Petitioned to Ban Meridia Diet Pill

On March 19, 2002, the Public Citizen consumer group petitioned the FDA for the immediate ban of sibutramine. 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 sibutramine "unacceptably dangerous" and referred to the 29 deaths that have resulted since its 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. FDA advisors voted against the approval of sibutramine 5-4 because of the safety concerns associated to the diet pill, including elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate. Since 1997, almost 9 million people have used sibutramine.

To view the Public Citizen petition
click here «