After nearly a year of reviewing the safety record of Abbott Laboratories’ prescription weight-loss drug Meridia (sibutramine), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a full defective drug recall Friday, asking the pharmaceutical manufacturer to remove the drug from pharmacy shelves. Meridia has been banned in Europe for almost a year, beginning shortly after research entitled SCOUT (Sibutramine Cardiovascular OUtcomes Trial) was published in December 2009.
SCOUT found that Meridia increased the risk of heart attack and stroke by 16% while providing very little weight-loss benefit over a placebo. The FDA began its Meridia safety review soon after SCOUT’s findings became public. The FDA issued a communication to doctors and patients advising against continuing to prescribe or use Meridia concurrently with the Meridia recall announcement.
Abbott Laboratories, manufacturer of Meridia, issued a press release asserting the pharmaceutical company’s position that Meridia is not dangerous and that the SCOUT results were in conflict with the drug maker’s internal Meridia pharmaceutical trials. Abbot Laboratories has said the company will fully comply with the Meridia defective drug recall even though it disagrees with the FDA’s findings.
Ever since the SCOUT report came out, watchdog and consumer advocacy groups like Public Citizen have been petitioning the FDA to recall Meridia due to the risk of serious heart events. Public Citizen also petitioned for Meridia’s removal from the market back in 2002. Both requests were denied by the FDA.
The FDA recall of Meridia has significant implications for anyone who has suffered a pharmaceutical injury such as heart attack or stroke after taking Meridia. The Meridia recall will raise the profile of Meridia pharmaceutical injuries in the media, which may prompt more Meridia defective drug injury victims to come forward. In addition, the FDA’s decision to remove Meridia from the market adds legitimacy to current and future Meridia drug injury lawsuits and Meridia wrongful death lawsuits.
If you or someone you know has had a heart attack, stroke, or other serious heart event after taking Meridia, please contact us to find a qualified personal injury lawyer in your state.
