October 11, 2010
Abbott withdraws diet pill in US, Canada
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Abbott Laboratories says it is withdrawing its diet pill Meridia in the U.S. and Canada, almost a year after studies showed the drug increases the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with a history of heart disease.
Meridia has been available in both countries for more than a decade. Abbott says it made the decision at the request of the Food and Drug Administration. Earlier in the day, Health Canada, the nation's health department, announced the drug would come off the market there.
European regulators pulled the product off the market in January citing data showing that patients who had heart disease were more likely to have heart attacks or stroke while taking the drug.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
