Meridia Recall
At the request of the Food & Drug Administration, Abbott Laboratories has withdrawn the diet drug, Meridia from the U.S. market. Studies have shown that the use of the diet drug for weight loss increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes based upon clinical data. The FDA had recommended patients stop taking Meridia because the modest weight loss attributed to successful use of the drug did not outweigh the risks of heart attacks and strokes. Abbott still claims it believes the risks are outweighed by the benefits of the drug but has agreed to comply with the FDA‘s request that the drug be removed from the market. Meridia has been under scrutiny by consumer groups for some time. Prescription diet pills have often been the subject of drug safety debates. A diet drug combination known as fen-phen was removed from shelves in 1997 because it was proven to cause heart valve damage.