fen phen was taken off the market in september 1997.
fen phen was taken off the market in september 1997.
when was fen phen taken off the market?
september 1997
meanwhile, phentermine had been fda approved in 1959 and fenfluramine in 1973. the two were no more popular than other medications until in 1992 a researcher reported that when combined the two caused a 10% weight loss which was maintained for more than two years. "fen-phen" was born and rapidly became the most commonly prescribed diet medication. dexfenfluramine (redux) was developed in the mid-1990s as an alternative to fenfluramine with fewer side-effects, and received regulatory approval in 1996. however, this coincided with mounting evidence that the combination could cause valvular heart disease in up to 30% of those who had taken it, leading to withdrawal of fen-phen and dexfenfluramine from the market in september 1997.
anti-obesity medication
fen-phen is no longer widely available. in april 2005, "american lawyer" magazine ran a cover story on the wave of fen-phen litigation, reporting that more than 50,000 product liability lawsuits had been filed by alleged fen-phen victims. estimates of total liability ran as high as $14 billion. as of february 2005, wyeth was still in negotiations with injured parties, offering settlements of $5,000 to $200,000 to some of those who had sued, and stating they might offer more to those who were most seriously injured. one plaintiff's attorney claimed that "the payments [were] not going to be large enough to cover medical expenses." thousands of injured persons rejected these offers. at the time, wyeth announced it has set aside $21.1 billion (u.s.) to cover the cost of the lawsuits.
fenfluramine/phentermine