Meridia
Weight Loss Drug
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, sibutramine (Meridia),
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 weight loss drug death
and records of seven other deaths were inaccurate, unsupported,
or incomplete.
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.
Meridia weight loss drug 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. Meridia deaths. These FDA approved weight loss
drugs show 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 Meridia weight loss drug that is currently
used by 9,000 Canadians. Canadian health officials have received
28 reports of adverse events associated with Meridia weight
loss drug in the last year, including increased blood pressure,
chest pain, stroke, and vision disturbances. After reviewing
the national and international safety information on Meridia
weight loss drug the  Canadian
health officials will then make a decision on the future of
Meridia.
March 22, 2002
Public Citizen consumer group has asked the FDA to ban
Meridia weight loss drug because the it is associated
with 29 deaths and 397 serious side effects. In addition,
Public Citizen finds that Meridia weight loss drug offers
only a small benefit while costing serious health risks. Abbott
Laboratories has admitted that at least 32 patients have died
while taking Meridia weight loss drug but that around 9 million
people have used Meridia in the last five years.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the Public Citizen Health Research Group
says there are FDA documents linking Meridia weight loss drug
to nearly 400 serious bad reactions from Feb. 98- Sept. 01.
Controversy surrounds Meridia weight loss drug due to the
previous vote by the FDA's own advisory committee that voted
5-4 against approving Meridia weight loss drug that the FDA
overruled a year later. Italy has banned their brand name
of Meridia (Reductil) already after 50 reports of adverse
Meridia side effects, and Meridia weight loss drug is under
fire by health officials in Europe. British health authorities
associated two deaths and 212 reports of suspected adverse
reactions in Meridia patients, and French drug regulators
reported 99 instances of Meridia side effects, 10 of them
being serious.
The Meridia weight loss drug 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, Meridia weight loss drug has quickly been
accepted by dieters everywhere. This is Public Citizen's fifth
petition with the FDA to ban a drug since1996. Wolfe predicts
Meridia weight loss drug will be banned in the future saying
Meridia "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 Meridia
weight loss drug in Europe, in Britain have died in addition
to the 200 others suffering adverse
side effects. Italy suspended sales of Meridia weight
loss drug last week after reports of health problems, including
two fatalities. The Pharmaceutical Commission in Italy decided
Meridia's beneficial effects must be reevaluated.
March 7, 2002
Italy has suspended Meridia weight loss drug that can lead
to a Europe-wide review of the diet pill. Italy's Health Ministry
said that it was immediately withdrawing all Meridia products
because of the 50 reports of health related problems. Italy's
move is the first move involving Meridia weight loss drugs
since its approval in 1997.
February 13, 1998
Meridia weight loss drug will be on pharmacy shelves next
week when Knoll Pharmaceutical launches the anxiously awaited
diet pill. Meridia weight loss drug was first FDA approved
in November after the Fen Phen and Redux recalls linking the
former diet pills to heart valve damage. The market for overweight
people is enormous and the Meridia manufacturer expects global
sales to peak at $400-500 million a year. The manufacturer
is marketing Meridia weght loss drug ias a preemptive strike
at critics by saying Meridia is very different than recalled
diet pills Fen Phen and Redux. Obesity experts are hoping
the popularity that hit Fen Phen and Redux will not occur
with Meridia, with mass quantities of prescriptions filled
and ended in a recall. Many weight loss centers are not planning
on using the new diet pills that the FDA has called "moderately
effective".
November 25, 1997
The FDA has approved the first new weight loss drug since
the ban of Fen Phen and Redux, but the new diet pill Meridia
has serious risks as well. Meridia weight loss drug can cause
increases in blood pressure and pulse rate that may endanger
certain patients, according to the FDA. Meridia side effects
also include headaches, constipation, and sleeplessness. The
manufacturer pledged they would educate doctors and patients
to use Meridia weight loss drug responsibly. Meridia weight
loss drug will not be sold for a few more months while the
Drug Enforcement Administration is determining how strictly
to control prescriptions.
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