October 10, 2003
"High Meridia lawsuit payoffs inaccurate"
People have had a misconception that sue happy lawyers have won
multimillion dollar verdicts by suing big companies according
to those people on the other side of the fence. Drug lawsuits
such as Meridia have been making news, but according to one woman,
she resents the accusations of Meridia payoffs. The former Meridia
user said she has had a Meridia lawsuit pending for two years
and has been suffering Meridia side effects ever since using the
weight loss pill.
Meridia’s effectiveness has been considered only moderately
effective at best. There was a large amount of excitement in 1995
when scientists discovered a hormone produced by fat cells. Thinking
they might have a breakthrough in weight loss pills, the anticipation
was disappointing. Meridia’s stay on the market has been
opposed, especially by Public Citizen consumer group who petitioned
the FDA for a Meridia ban in March 2002 and then renewed the request
in September 2003 because of the dangers of the drug.
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.
For more information on Meridia contact
us to confer with a Meridia lawyer.
April 8, 2003
"Meridia Still Dangerous for Adolescents"
Meridia has been controversial due to the 29 reported deaths occurring
with Meridia patients, most of them the result of cardiovascular
events. After being approved in 1998 despite the 5-4 votes by
the FDA advisory committee concerned with elevated blood pressure
and increased pulse rate, Meridia received high amounts of opposition,
especially from Public Citizen consumer group.
The group petitioned in 2002 for the immediate ban of Meridia,
however Meridia has remained on the market for adult use only.
A new study on Meridia has shown that despite the weight loss
results Meridia can provide, the weight loss drug is still not
safe for adolescents to use. The Meridia study showed there were
increases in pulse rate and blood pressure and Meridia studies
should continue to be performed, especially regarding Meridia
use for adolescents and children.
June 12, 2002
Chicago Tribune, "Abbott Slides On FDA, Profit News"
Shares of Abbott Laboratories plunged 16 percent after
the medical product giant said it would take a $140 million charge
to cover additional costs and penalties from a punishing consent
decree it signed with the Food and Drug Administration in 1999.
The revelations come less than a month after North Chicago-based
Abbott disclosed that its Lake County diagnostic test-making facilities
unexpectedly failed a key FDA inspection. The reduction of Abbott's
earnings guidance also reflected slower-than-expected sales of
its controversial diet drug Meridia and foreign currency pressures,
particularly from the devalued Argentine peso, the company said.
Abbott is waiting for a determination from the FDA and European
officials on the fate of its diet drug Meridia, which has come
under regulatory scrutiny because of reports of patients dying
after taking it. Abbott said sales originally projected at $400
million are now expected to be $300 million, largely because of
what the company called "negative publicity" after Italian
officials suspended sales of the drug and the U.S. consumer group
Public Citizen called for a ban.
For more information on Meridia contact
us to confer with a Meridia lawyer.
June 6, 2002
Associated Press, "Five Sue Diet Drug Maker Over
Alleged Side Effects"Five users of the diet drug
Meridia are suing Abbott Laboratories over alleged side effects,
including heart problems. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S.
District Court in Cleveland, Ohio, asked that Abbott Laboratories
stop selling the Meridia diet drug, and to pay for both the medical
expenses and loss of earnings brought on by the drug's alleged
side effects.
March 15, 2002
BBC News - "Patients Die After Taking Obesity Drug"
Two patients have died and more than 200 others have
reported suspected adverse reactions after taking the anti-obesity
drug Reductil (Meridia) in the UK.
However, the Department of Health has said there is no reason
for people who are taking the drug to stop. The deaths are thought
to have been caused by the patients' underlying medical condition
rather than by anything to do with Reductil (technical name sibutramine).
Sales of the drug were suspended in Italy last week after reports
of health problems, including two fatalities. Italy's Pharmaceutical
Commission decided that the beneficial effects of the drug must
be re-evaluated. Other national agencies have been examining the
number of adverse drug reaction reports in preparation for a Europe-wide
review by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency. The Department
of Health said that 93 people had suffered a serious adverse reaction
after taking the drug.
For more information on Meridia contact
us to confer with a Meridia lawyer.
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