In a first trial in 2021, the manufacturer was found guilty of serious deception, bodily harm through negligence and manslaughter and sentenced to a fine of 2.7 million euros. A former top executive of the manufacturer was sentenced to four years in prison.
Both the company and the ex-manager appealed the verdict. The so-called mediator affair is considered one of the biggest French health scandals.
According to a study by the Medicines Safety Regulatory Agency, the pills could have caused the deaths of at least 500 patients in France alone. The drug is said to have caused damage to the heart and circulatory system, among other things. The drug Mediator has not been on the market in France for years and is also not sold in Germany.
Service had denied the allegations. Service marketed the pills as a diabetes drug in the mid-1970s. It was also commonly prescribed to overweight people as a hunger suppressant.
(SDA)