Meridia
The diet drug Meridia was recalled in October 2010 due to its link with an increased risk of cardiovascular side effects. Prior to the recall, the Food and Drug Administration had raised questions about the drug’s safety after a study found that Meridia increased the risk of heart attack and stroke while doing little to lower weight.
Released by Abbott Laboratories in 1997, Meridia is designed to help patients lose weight by affecting the release of chemicals that tell the body to stop eating when full. By blocking these chemicals from going away, Meridia makes patients feel that they are always full, which should result in them eating less.
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, patients taking Meridia are 28% more likely to suffer a heart attack and 36% more likely to have a stroke. Many experts believe that doctors should stop prescribing Meridia given that patients only lost an average of five pounds more than those taking a placebo.
But according to some experts, the study may have significantly underestimated the side effects of Meridia by excluding more than 900 patients who had immediately negative reactions to the drug. Experts say that this may have prevented the number of patients who developed problems from taking Meridia during the study from growing even higher.
The European Medicines Agency ordered Abbott to issue a Meridia recall in Europe based on early information regarding the side effects of the drug. Before the decision to recall Meridia was made in the U.S., officials with the FDA had called for the addition of new warnings to the drug’s label.
If you have taken Meridia to lose weight and suffered heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular side effects, contact the attorneys at Hissey Kientz, LLP to learn more about your legal rights. You can reach us by calling toll-free at 1-866-275-4454, or by filling out the free case evaluation form on the right of this page.