This past week new data suggested that some people taking the anti-obesity drug Meridia (sibutramine) are at greater risk of heart attacks and strokes than people taking a placebo. It also raised blood pressure and heart rate among users. What is interesting is how two large regulatory agencies responded to this data. The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has already advised physicians and pharmacists to stop prescribing and dispensing the medication, while the U.S. FDA has urged pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories, the maker of Meridia, to place a stronger warning on the drug. The warning is to caution against the use of the drug by people who are already at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Was the EMEA too hasty in its decision or is the FDA not forceful enough? Proponents of the drug agree that it shouldn’t be given to those with cardiovascular disease or diabetes, while critics are in favor of an overall ban. In the drug’s twelve years on the market it has been linked to more than 80 deaths, including 30 people under age 50. [via New York Times]
Share your comments here.
Follow us on Twitter
Become a fan on Facebook
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.