The Contrave Drug Recall Of 2011

The rising rates of obesity and the swelling number of overweight people worldwide has led to the upsurge of diet pills and quick weight loss fixes. People looking to lose those pounds have contended with different pills claiming similar things over the last ten years. However, while these diet pills promise great results, some have hidden side effects that have led to injury, and even death. The Food and Drug Administration has since then become more stringent with the approval of these pills for distribution, and this move is not unprecedented.

Among these weight loss pills is Contrave. In December of 2010, the FDA panel endorsed the pill as an approved and safe drug for weight-loss, much to the delight of many. However, in May of 2011, the company producing Contrave was forced to do a drug recall for the pill due to dangerous side effects that afflicted many of its users.

Contrave has been found to be a combination of two drugs that are already relatively well known; specifically, Wellbutin and Naltrexone. Wellbutrin is actually an antidepressant, while Naltrexone is similarly used to treat those suffering from different addictions. For both of these drugs, patients have found that weight loss is a significant side effect. While this may sound extremely appealing for people trying to lose weight, there were major health concerns that were not addressed by the company, or the FDA panel, upon the onset of the pill's distribution.

The side effects of Contrave that caused its drug recall in 2011 are similar to the side effects associated with Wellbutin and Naltrexone. In combination, both of these drugs may cause your blood pressure to shoot up to dangerous levels. For those already sensitive and at risk of hypertension, the danger is amplified and the users of Contrave were exposed to higher risks of cardiac problems, heart attacks, and strokes. Fatal risks, therefore, were involved in taking Contrave as a weight loss agent. The drug was also found to expose its users to lifelong and debilitation conditions, such as the permanent health damage caused by strokes. The drugs were also found to cause seizures in otherwise healthy patients, nausea, constipation, the quickening of the pulse, and headaches.

Though the drug was initially FDA approved, the Contrave clinical trials and their results should already have been a cause for alarm. 40% of its participants dropped out of the trial due to the drug's damaging side effects. Technically speaking, in clinical trials the drug must achieve at least a 5% success rate in order to be considered safe and effective. It was found later on that Contrave only had a success rate of 4.2%, with successful patients losing over 5 percent of body weight but taxing their hearts.

The FDA drug recall of Contrave in 2011 was a wise move, given that the risks of using the drug and the dangers it posed were much too great. Another reason for user dissatisfaction with Contrave was that the weight loss that was initially experienced while on the drug was temporary, and not long-term. Overall, the drug only caused temporary weight-loss while exposing the user to lifelong and permanent health damages to the heart. Today, it remains that weight loss mandates a lifestyle change, and may not occur by simply popping a pill.

The time in which you may file a product liability lawsuit after an injury is limited in both Missouri and Illinois. It’s important to contact an experienced product liability lawyer as soon as possible after an injury to ensure that important evidence isn’t lost and that your claim is not barred by the state’s statute of limitations.

Contact Missouri and Illinois Product Liability Attorneys

GET HELP IMMEDIATELY! If you feel that you or someone you love has been hurt by a defective product, contact the St. Louis product liability lawyers at Zevan and Davidson Law Firm today. Schedule a free consultation by calling (314) 588-7200.