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A French weight loss drug, Mediator, has reportedly killed "at least 1300" people over the 33 years it was on the market, according to a new study.
A study by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research- known simply as INSERM in France- found that the diabetes and weight loss drug led to over 3,000 hospitalizations, and at least 1,300 deaths, although that figure may not be accurate.
The numbers, which are already evidence of gross negligence, could have been "an underestimate," researcher Mahmud Zureik told the French News Agency AFP. It's possible that the 2010 evalution Zureik studied could have contained inaccuracies, and up to 2,000 people could have died because of the faulty product.
The report stated that over 300,000 people used it to suppress their appetite, which would in turn lower their body fat and blood-sugar levels.
Unfortunately, the cardiovascular side effects of the drug were not fully explored; 3,100 hospitalizations and 1,300 deaths were the result.
The French company that produced Mediator, called Servier, is now being investigated under "suspicion of dishonest practices and deception," which could mean that they did not properly report the side effects of the drug when tested, or did not properly test the drug at all.
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Mediator "damaged heart valves and cause users to suffer pulmonary hypertension, potentially leading to heart failure," reported Inquisitr.
The drug, known generically as benfluorex, was pulled from European markets in 2010.
Fenfluramine, a benfluorex-related drug, has been marketed not only as Pondimin, Ponderax, Adifax, and Fen-Phen. It was discontinued after it was discovered that the drug could cause heart valve damage as well.
Servier may not be the only party at fault for all the deaths, however.
Although Mediator was marketed highly up until 2010 in France, many other European nations pulled the drug in 2009, when concerns were first revealed. France, though, delayed pulling the drug, possibly costing more hospitalizations and deaths in the process.
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