Book Blasts Pondimin Maker, FDA
August 19, 2001
URGENT NOTICE: In many instances, if you have not filed your claim by May 3, 2003 you may lose your rights to bring a claim or receive compensation for any valvular heart damage that you sustained from Fen-Phen diet drugs.
While there are some exceptions to this deadline available to class members who timely requested a free echocardiogram under the Screening Program, to fully protect your rights you should file your claim by May 3, 2003. In addition to this deadline, there may be other important dates which are approaching. For this reason, you should act immediately.
The summer of 2000 brought a settlement in one of America's most damming examples of corporate greed and indifference. Wyeth-Ayerst, a subsidiary of drug giant American Home Products, agreed to a class action settlement in which the company set aside $12 billion to compensate victims of its popular "fen-phen" diet drug cocktail. The company recalled fen-phen in 1997.
In a book titled "Dispensing With the Truth," author Alicia Mundy details the rise and fall of the prescription diet drug industry. The book accuses Wyeth-Ayerst of putting profits ahead of patient health. Mundy also implicates the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for essentially turning a blind eye to the matter. There is evidence that both Wyeth-Ayerst and the FDA were well aware of fen-phen's tendency to cause deadly heart valve damage, yet both the company and the agency went forward with approval and marketing of the drug.
Fen-phen is the combination of the serotonin-releasing drugs fenfluramine and phentermine. The medications act to reduce carbohydrate cravings and thus caloric intake. The company also marketed fenfluramine under the names Redux and Pondimin.
Under the terms of the 2000 settlement, anyone who took fen-phen, Redux, or Pondimin for more than 60 days and suffered heart valve damage is eligible for compensation. The amount awarded depends on the severity of heart valve damage and the age at which the victim was prescribed one of the drugs. The maximum damage award under the class action settlement agreement is $1.5 million.
There are exceptions to the settlement terms that require Wyeth-Ayerst to pay for periodic medical evaluations in certain circumstances. In addition, all former users are entitled to a refund of the drugs' purchase price, ranging from $30 to $60 per month.
The class action settlement is not the end of the fen-phen story. Thousands of victims opted out of the class action litigation and have filed individual lawsuits against Wyeth-Ayerst. In addition, doctors have discovered new injuries caused by fen-phen, Redux, and Pondimin, including the rare but almost always fatal primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH).
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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