The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

The final results of a recent study show that Abbott Laboratories diet drug Meridia increases the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who are already suffering from heart disease. Consumer groups and others have asked that Meridia be pulled from the market over these risks.

A mid-September public hearing involving the Food and Drug Administration was to be held over whether further action should be taken on the drug after it was withdrawn from the European market. Late in 2009, editors at the New England Journal of Medicine were calling Meridia flawed and wondering why it was still on the market.

While this was going on, the FDA strengthened the language in the drug's warning that patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease may be at an increased risk, and then called for a public meeting. However, some say that existing data about Meridia shows it should have been pulled from the market as early as 2002. Public Citizen's Health Research Group Director Sidney Wolfe says inaction on this makes it appear the FDA cannot move on drugs that have serious health risks.

Abbott says that two of every three people in the US are overweight or obese and that Meridia should still be used, just not by people with heart disease.

If you or a loved one has suffered dangerous side effects from Meridia, please contact the experienced pharmaceutical litigation attorneys at the Cochran Firm. We serve clients nationwide.