Diet Drugs - Fenfluramine, Pondimin, Phentermine

Fenfluramine, known as Pondimin, was FDA approved in 1973 for as a diet drug intended for short-term use. Pondimin gave a feeling of fullness when taken that allowed a decreased amount of food intake as a result. Phentermine was approved way back in 1959 and remained on the market for a long time. Both Pondimin and Phentermine never reached the popular status that Fen Phen and Redux did due to the uncomfortable side effects including, diarrhea, drowsiness, dry mouth, insomnia, and irritability.

The combination of Pondimin and Phentermine was developed after a 1992 study was published showing that the side effects normally experienced taking the two diet drugs alone could be reduced and still remain an effective weight loss drug. This new combination became known as Fen Phen. Instant success came with Fen Phen, despite the fact that the drug was never FDA approved. Fen Phen was supposed to be used for people considered obese, but the drugs were being prescribed to dieting individuals wishing to lose just a few extra pounds.

In 1996 alone there were eighteen million prescriptions written for Fen Phen. Because American Home Products, the manufacturer of Fen Phen owned rights to market and sell the diet drug, they continued to make Fen Phen available to the public without proper warning. In 1997, the Mayo Clinic conducted a study and found that 30% of Fen Phen users in their study had developing heart valve problems that resulted in heart failure and death.

The American Home Products manufactured yet another diet drug that was approved in April 1996 called Redux (dexfenfluramine). The diet drug was approved despite the previous 5-3 votes by the scientific advisory panel against its approval. Fourteen months after Redux was approved for the U.S. market, 2.5 million prescriptions had already been written.

Up until the September 1997 FDA withdrawal of the diet drugs following the Mayo Clinic study, there had been an estimated six million Americans that had taken a Fen Phen or Redux combination. Numerous Redux lawsuits and Redux class actions followed as more and more diet drug users began experiencing the serious adverse side effects associated to the drugs.

On January 3, 2002, the Nationwide Class Action Settlement Agreement with American Home Products received Final Judicial Approval. Under the Settlement it allows former Redux and Pondimin patients to receive compensation if they have developed the deadly and serious conditions that have been linked to the once popular diet drugs. If you have used the diet drug Fen Phen, including Redux and Pondimin, you are eligible to file a claim by August 2002. If you would like to learn more about your legal rights regarding the Redux/ Pondimin recall, please contact us.