Getting your player ready...
WASHINGTON — Abbott Laboratories said Friday that it will withdraw its diet pill Meridia in the U.S. and Canada, after health regulators said the drug increases the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with a history of heart disease.
The withdrawal of Meridia leaves one prescription drug on the market for long-term weight loss: Roche’s Xenical, which is not widely used.
Food and Drug Administration scientists said they requested the withdrawal because Meridia’s risks were not outweighed by “the very modest weight loss that people achieve on this drug.” On average, patients lost 5 pounds with the drug.
About 100,000 patients use the drug in the U.S., according to the FDA. Eighty percent of users are middle-aged women.
