Servier to face French Courts over deaths reportedly linked to diet pill

Pharmaceutical drug maker Servier are set to be facing French prosecutors in Court over hundreds of deaths that have reportedly been associated with its weight-loss pill, Mediator.

Once marketed as a diabetes treatment, the drug was widely prescribed as a diet-pill as it apparently helped to suppress appetites. However, it has since been linked to over 500 deaths in France, becoming one of the nation’s worst health scandals.

The U.K. never authorised the drug, but Mediator may have nonetheless found its way across the channel through online markets.

Once the death toll started to add up, countries including Italy and Spain pulled the drug, but it wasn’t until ten years later in 2009 that France reportedly withdrew Mediator from its shelves. The drug’s active ingredient is benfluorex, an anorectic and hypolipidemic agent. On 18^th December 2009, the European Medicines Agency recommended the withdrawal of all drugs containing the ingredient after concluding that the risks of heart-valve disease far outweighed the benefits of taking the drug.

Manslaughter allegations and criminal cases

French prosecutors have indicted over 14 people from 11 institutions including Servier and the French drug regulator ANSM. The indictment covers multiple charges including allegations of misleading claims in marketing, and even manslaughter allegations. The French prosecutors are formally investigating Servier’s 90-year-old boss, Louis Servier, over manslaughter charges.

French Pharmaceuticals apparently have an incredible amount of power in the nation and Servier is no exception. Just before the drug was withdrawn in France, boss Louis Servier was awarded the country’s highest state honour, the Legion d’Honneur. The man who gave him the award was Nicolas Sarkozy, former French president and Servier’s former lawyer.

The company and its officials are to face trial over prosecutor’s accusations that Servier misled patients and authorities about the drug.

500 linked deaths – as high as 2,000?

According to the French health ministry, since the drug was released in 1976, 500 people have died after taking the drug. Other studies believe the real figure to be quadrupled at 2,000.

With over five million pills sold since production, there could have been even more deaths associated with the drug that were never formally identified. In affecting the heart valves, thousands more today still suffer from lasting cardiovascular complications, affecting their daily lives.

Dominique-Michel Courtois, president of Association for the victims of Isomeride and Mediator Medicines (AVIM) says:

“The manslaughter charge is very important. That the justice system has made the link between the deaths and the drug is key. There were lots of doctors who saw problems, but no one listened. Now patients and GPs are being listened to…”

A survivor’s case

Daniele Mourhlon was reportedly prescribed Mediator to avoid gaining weight after being diagnosed with a thyroid problem. She noted she never needed to lose weight as she was slim, even after having three children. She reportedly cooked healthy meals and went on long hikes. Nevertheless, she followed doctors’ orders and took Mediator three times a day.

After taking it for five years, the drug took its toll and apparently damaged three of her heart valves. Mourhlon underwent open heart surgery to treat the damage and is now dependent on medication. The now-retired 71 year old struggles to breathe and carry out daily activities. She was devastated to be told that her life expectancy has been reduced because of the drug.

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/diethylstilbestrol/5839093612