French Pharmaceutical Company Fined as Weight Loss Pills Killed Many People
Research Studies Suggests That Permanent Heart Damage Have Been Linked to Intake of This Appetite Suppressant Drug
A French pharmaceutical firm has been recently found out to be guilty of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated deceit over the company’s weight loss pills in a massive health scandal. The Mediator drug was initially developed to be used in individuals suffering from overweight along with type 2 diabetes mellitus and has been sold as an over-the-counter medication for the past 33 years.
But in the year 2009, the weight loss pills were withdrawn from the general market, as there have been multiple concerns that the drug could possibly cause serious cardiac dysfunctions to develop over time. It is believed that hundreds of individuals died after the intake of these weight loss pills over a certain time period.
It has been reported that the Mediator weight loss pills have been prescribed to around five million people over the time duration of the past three decades, despite receiving numerous warnings of possibly fatal adverse effects.
Court order and sentence
A lawsuit has also been filed against the pharmaceutical firm regarding their weight loss pills in the year 2019, in which thousands of plaintiffs have been involved in the trial process. Meanwhile, the drug-making firm for Mediator has denied all claims made regarding the weight loss pills, saying that they had no prior knowledge regarding any side effects of the drug, although the court has issued the firm with the fine of $3.2 million.
According to the judge of this case, Sylvie Daunis, the firm was completely aware of the possible adverse cause of their weight loss pills and the fatalities caused by them for many years in the past, but they did not take any required measures to limit or prevent the issue from worsening in the general population. If the firm had taken the necessary protocols, numerous lives would have been saved, which were lost due to the improper intake of weight loss pills.
The former deputy chairman of the firm, Jean-Philippe Seta, has also been sentenced to a suspension in a correctional facility for the duration of four years due to the improper conduct and supervision of the pharmaceutical company.
The medical regulating authority of France has also been fined by the court $413,679 for their misconduct and role in the health scandal regarding weight loss pills. The judge for this case found out that the governing body was unable to play its designated part in control and has seriously failed in the duties which have been given to them.
Sometime ahead of the finalized verdict of Monday, Dr. Irene Frachon, who is a pulmonologist in France, and has been given the credit of exposing the side effects of the weight loss pills by the French pharmaceutical firm, told a news agency that she hopes that the finalized ruling by the court would also provide some understanding regarding how the company was able to deceit such a large amount of population for a long period of time, without suffering from any consequences, even when hundreds of lives were lost, meanwhile millions of individuals who have been prescribed with the weight loss pills could be at stake of developing critical health conditions for the rest of their lives.
Restrictive measures on appetite suppressing drug
A number of countries located across Europe, including Spain and Italy, had completely banned the prescription and supply of the weight loss pills Mediator in the early 2000s, as several cases were reported when patients began to start developing permanent heart damage without any cause while suffering from diabetes mellitus.
Meanwhile, in France, the weight loss pills were still being offered to the general population of the country in an attempt to help them reduce their unhealthy amount of body weight while they are already suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. The drug was also being prescribed to other individuals who were looking to decrease their weight as the medication works as an appetite suppressant, resulting in loss of body fat.
According to a research study conducted on weight loss pills, it has been reported that more than 500 individuals have died as they have been directly linked to having a continuous intake of the drug between the time period of 1976 till 2009. Afterward, a second study was conducted, which further increase the figure to 2,000.
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