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Motion filed against makers of diet drugs
December 8, 1997
Web posted at: 7:48 p.m. EST (0048 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN)-- Two advocacy groups filed a motion in federal court Monday asking that the makers of three diet drugs, including fen-phen, be required to compensate patients for heart and lung tests.
The motion by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance and the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination targets the makers of Redux, known generically as dexfenfluramine; and fenfluramine and phentermine, the components of the once-popular diet drug combination known as fen-phen.
The motion was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington against a number of pharmaceutical companies, including American Home Products, Interneuron Pharmaceuticals and Wyeth-Ayerst, as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HHS is not legally liable for any monetary compensation.
According to Ron Benjamin, the groups' attorney, the motion seeks to have the pharmaceutical companies as a group contribute money allowing anyone who has taken Redux, fenfluramine or phentermine to receive free screening.
The screening would test for primary pulmonary hypertension, a potentially fatal lung condition, and heart valve damage. He estimated the cost of each test to be $800, and said the cost of the screening program could reach into the billions.
Anywhere from 1.2 million to 4 million people are thought to have taken the diet pills before two of them -- Redux and fenfluramine -- were pulled off the market in September.
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Related stories:
- Diet drug users urged to see doctor - November 13, 1997
- Consumers flock to alternative diet aids - November 3, 1997
- 2 popular diet drugs pulled from market - September 15, 1997
- Dieters switching to Herbal Fen-Phen - July 11, 1997
Related sites:
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- National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance Home Page
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- American Heart Association
- Fen/Phen Crisis Center
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