PARIS - At least 1,300 people had died from anti-diabetes drug Mediator before it was pulled from the market, local media reported Thursday.
According to a study published by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research Inserm, 145 million packets of Mediator were sold on the French market before it was withdrawn in November 2009, French broadcaster RFI reported.
Some 3,100 people had required hospitalization during the 33 years the drug was sold on the market, mostly as a weight-loss pill.
The Mediator case came to light following a scandal involving a similar type of anti-obesity drug, fenfluramine, in the late 1990s, the RFI said. It was pulled from the European market after it emerged that the drug could damage heart valves and cause pulmonary hypertension.
Its French manufacturer, Servier, is being probed on suspicion of dishonest practices and deception, according to RFI.
source: interaksyon.com
