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Injured by Fen-Phen?
Fen Phen, or Pondimin (Generic: Fenfluramine) and Redux (Generic: Dexfenfluramine), has been linked to Heart Valve Disease and Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH). Fen Phen was a popular appetite suppressant drug prescribed to people wishing to lose weight.Withdrawal from the Market
In 1997, the FDA asked Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories (American Home Products) the makers of Pondimin (Fenfluramine) and Redux (Dexfenfluramine), to withdraw its popular anti-obesity drugs from the market. American Home Products Corp. of Madison, N.J. manufactured fenfluramine under the brand name Pondimin. An American Home Products subsidiary Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories manufactured Dexfenfluramine for Interneuron Pharmaceuticals under the name of Redux. Medical studies have linked Pondimin or Redux to heart valve disease.
Study Results
The FDA stated that in findings from doctors who evaluated patients taking Fenfluramine and Dexfenfluramine with echocardiograms, approximately 30 percent of patients had abnormal echocardiograms, even though they had no symptoms. This is a much higher than expected percentage of abnormal test results. Additionally, a Mayo Clinic study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on August 28, 1997 suggested that as high as one-third of a patient sampling of Fen-Phen diet pill users had evidence of heart valve disease. The study found that there was a high incidence of heart valve disease in patients taking these diet pills, without any other known reason for valve disease. In addition to heart valve disease, the use of Fenfluramine and Dexfenfluramine has been found to increase the risk of developing Primary Pulmonary Hypertension or (PPH). PPH is a rare disease of that causes the progressive narrowing of the blood vessels of the lungs. Studies estimate that treatment with certain appetite suppressant drugs tends to increase the chances of developing PPH by approximately 25 to 30%.
Legal Help for Fen Phen Victims
If you or a loved one took Fen Phen and suffered side effects, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified drug side effects attorney.
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Fen-Phen Decision Affirmed by New York Supreme Court
Feb 1, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
The New York Supreme Court has affirmed a decision by a New York State Judge to allow the Long Island law firm, Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, to intervene and seek disclosure of documents related to a November 2001 fen-phen settlement. Last March, New York Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Ramos had ordered a new trial in the so-called “New York Diet Drug Litigation” case. Parker Waichman had alleged that Napoli, Kaiser & Bern, LLP, the firm that negotiated...
Woman's Death Highlights Risk of Herbal Diet Products
Aug 15, 2005 | The Standard
Slimming aids containing fenfluramine were banned in the US in 1997.A 53-year-old woman has died and hundreds of others may be risking their lives by turning to herbal diet products that contain unsafe western medical ingredients, the Department of Health has warned.The woman died recently after using herbal health products found to contain the substances fenfluramine and propranolol.Philippa Yu, executive officer of the Hong Kong Eating Disorders Association (HEDA), echoed the warning, saying...
$1.013 Billion Award In Wyeth 'Fen-Phen' Case
Apr 28, 2004 | Philadelphia Inquirer
The family of a Texas woman was awarded $1.013 billion yesterday by a jury in Beaumont, Texas, which found drugmaker Wyeth was responsible for the woman's death several years after she took one of the company's "fen-phen" diet drugs.Cynthia Cappel-Coffey, 41, took the drug Pondimin between November 1996 and June 1997. In December 2001, she developed a fatal lung condition called primary pulmonary hypertension. She died last year.Yesterday's verdict, which Wyeth said it would appeal and which...
Fen-Phen Federal Lawsuit Filed for Miss., Tenn. Residents
Apr 19, 2004 | AP
A new lawsuit against makers of the diet drug Fen-Phen has been filed in a Mississippi federal court. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 600 people, residents of both Mississippi and Tennessee. The plaintiffs claim they have suffered heart disease from using the diet drugs, but say the medical condition remained undetected until they had test performed after September 20th, 1999. That's two years after the drugs were removed from the market. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages from...
Woman Wins Fen-Phen Suit
Nov 7, 2003 | AP
A jury awarded a woman whose heart was damaged after using the weight-loss drugs Fen-Phen more than $1.3 million in damages Thursday.Jurors awarded Deborah Hayes $810,000 for future medical expenses and $500,000 for future mental anguish.Hayes, 46, sued Fen-Phen maker Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories (WYE), claiming the combination of the drugs damaged a valve in her heart. The postal worker said she took Fen-Phen for 90 days over a six-month period in 1999.Doctors found plaque in her heart valve, a...
Fen Phen
Quick Facts
Fen Phen Reference Guide
Generic Name
Fenfluramine
Date Approved
1973
Manufacturer
American Home Products
Status
Removed 1997
Approved Uses
Appetite suppressant
Serious Side Effects
PPH
Heart valve disease
Related Topics
Heart Valve Disease
Defective Drugs
Diseases
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