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PRESCRIPTION DIET DRUG MERIDIA LINKED TO HEART COMPLICATIONS AND DEATHS
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Ashcraft & Gerel
LLP
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PRESCRIPTION DIET DRUG MERIDIA LINKED TO HEART COMPLICATIONS AND DEATHS
[Introduction: Although our offices are located in Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA) and Washington, D.C. (DC), our drug and pharmaceutical practice is national in scope, and our lawyers are handling many drug cases around the country. Therefore, regardless of what state you're in, please complete our inquiry form on this web site or email us so that we can have an attorney from our drug litigation department contact you.
We're sorry, but we are
no longer accepting new Meridia claims.]
Meridia (sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate) is a prescription diet drug first marketed to the public in February 1998. Meridia works by altering brain chemistry to make the person using it feel full. One of the most heavily advertised drugs since its appearance on the market, it has been widely prescribed to induce and maintain weight loss. Since 1998 there have been approximately 400 adverse events reported to the FDA associated with the use of Meridia.
Prior to its approval for sale in the United States, clinical trials of the drug showed that it could have adverse effects on patients' heart rate and blood pressure. In fact, in October 1996, Knoll Pharmaceuticals, the company that created Meridia, withdrew its request for FDA approval of a 30mg dose of Meridia, because the drug induced heart complications. The FDA recommended that the company also withdraw their application for approval of 20mg doses. Despite these strong early warning signs the company proceeded to seek approval for and market 5mg, 10mg and 15mg doses of Meridia. Subsequent data shows that the average yearly weight loss for patients taking Meridia is only six and a half pounds greater than patients who don't take Meridia.
Of the approximately 400 adverse events associated with Meridia the company has acknowledged that approximately 32 involved the death of a Meridia user. Nineteen of them involved heart complications. Public Citizen, a national consumer advocacy group that is often the first to recognize when a prescription drug is too dangerous for public sale, has now petitioned the FDA to remove the drug from the market. The drug has already been removed from the market in Italy and is under investigation in France, Britain, and Canada.
Are you presently taking Meridia? Did you previously take Meridia and stop because of heart palpitations, shortness of breath or fatigue? Often the symptoms of heart complications are overlooked when they are mistaken for the effects of being overweight. Further information can be obtained at the FDA website.
If you think you or a loved one may have suffered an injury or damages as a result of using Meridia, you owe it to yourself to speak to an experienced drug or pharmaceutical lawyer. Ashcraft & Gerel's lawyers are now accepting claims for injuries caused by Meridia. Although our law offices are located in Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA) and Washington, D.C. (DC), our drug litigation is national in scope, and, in association with attorneys in other states, our lawyers are involved in many cases around the country. Our lawyers have been leaders in mass tort and product liability claims, cases, judgments, verdicts and settlements, including Rezulin, Propulsid, Baycol, PPA, asbestos, breast implants and tainted blood. Our lawyers have been at the forefront of the Fen-Phen diet drug claims for over two years, and our attorneys are well situated to see the Meridia cases to a successful damage settlement or verdict for our clients. We have a toll free number for you to obtain answers to your questions from a lawyer with regard to your specific case. That number is (800) 725-6470. If you would prefer, please feel free to email us or complete the help inquiry form on this web site in order to have an attorney answer your questions. Please be sure to include your name, address, telephone number (if you wish to be called), email address and the exact nature of your question so that the lawyer can provide you with the specific claim information you seek.
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