Public Citizen Petitions for Withdrawal of Meridia Diet Drug

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nationwide consumer organization Public Citizen has filed a petition with the FDA asking it to ban sibutramine, a popular diet drug marketed under the trade name Meridia.

According to the March 19 petition filed by the group, Meridia should be immediately banned as a result of its association with some 29 deaths of people who were taking the drug. According to FDA records obtained by Public Citizen, there have been more than 397 serious adverse reactions related to Meridia since 1998, when manufacturer Abbott Laboratories began marketing the drug.

And it should never have been …