Paris court convicts, fines pharma firm for deadly diet pill – By Associated Press (Seattle PI) / Mar 29 2021
PARIS (AP) — A Paris court handed millions of euros (dollars) in fines to a French pharmaceutical company on Monday for its role in one of the nation’s biggest modern health scandals, finding it guilty of manslaughter and other charges for selling a diabetes drug blamed for hundreds of deaths.
The ruling capped a judicial marathon targeting Servier Laboratories and involving more than 6,500 plaintiffs. The Paris tribunal was expected to take several hours to read out its verdict in full, because it was so long. The huge trial was spread over 10 months in 2019 and 2020, and nearly 400 lawyers worked on the case.
It centered on the diabetes drug Mediator. Servier was accused of putting profits ahead of patients’ welfare by allowing the drug to be widely and irresponsibly prescribed as a diet pill — with deadly consequences. Servier argued that it didn’t know about the drug’s dangers.
The court found Servier guilty of manslaughter, involuntary wounding and aggravated deception. The firm was acquitted of fraud.
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