French Court Slaps 2.7 Mln Euro Fine on Maker of ‘Death Drug’

A French court found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated fraud and involuntary manslaughter in the Mediator case. (AFP)
A French court found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated fraud and involuntary manslaughter in the Mediator case. (AFP)
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French Court Slaps 2.7 Mln Euro Fine on Maker of ‘Death Drug’

A French court found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated fraud and involuntary manslaughter in the Mediator case. (AFP)
A French court found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated fraud and involuntary manslaughter in the Mediator case. (AFP)

A decade after the so-called “Mediator scandal”, a court in Paris announced its final verdict against the Servier Laboratoires and the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM).

The court stated that the Mediator drug made by Servier caused the death of 3,000 women from heart failure. The court found the drugmaker guilty of fraud for hiding the side effects of Mediator licensed as a diabetes treatment, while over five million women used it as an appetite suppressant to lose weight.

Servier Laboratoires was fined 2.7 million euros but cleared of its charges for fraud.

Sylvie Daunis, who presided over the ruling, said: “Despite the knowledge they had of the risks incurred for many years, they never took the necessary measures and thus deceived consumers of Mediator.” She added that the company undermined confidence in the French health system.

The company's chairman, Jacques Servier died in 2014 before the opening of the case. Servier's former deputy boss, Jean-Philippe Seta was sentenced to a suspended jail sentence of four years. The court on also fined France's drug regulator ANSM 303,000 euros.

The plaintiffs had sought one billion euros in damages, but the general prosecution gave a cap of 9 million euros, the highest sum they can request in accordance with French law.

Lawyer Jean-Christophe Coubris dismissed the figure, saying the sum can be earned within six hours of work at the giant Servier Laboratoires. Coubris, who specializes in medical malpractice, represented 2,600 plaintiffs including families of dead victims and individuals who were severely damaged by the drug.

The case was opened in the summer of 2019 and ended a year later. The final ruling came after 517 hours of hearings that focused on one fundamental question: How did doctors keep prescribing Mediator for 33 years despite the constant warnings of its risks? The drug was withdrawn from pharmacies in 2009.



Elizabeth Strout, Miranda July are Among Finalists for the Women's Prize for Fiction

Yael Van Der Wouden arrives at the Booker Prize award dinner in London, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (ΑΡ Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
Yael Van Der Wouden arrives at the Booker Prize award dinner in London, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (ΑΡ Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
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Elizabeth Strout, Miranda July are Among Finalists for the Women's Prize for Fiction

Yael Van Der Wouden arrives at the Booker Prize award dinner in London, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (ΑΡ Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
Yael Van Der Wouden arrives at the Booker Prize award dinner in London, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (ΑΡ Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

American authors Elizabeth Strout and Miranda July are among finalists announced Wednesday for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, alongside four debut novelists exploring the search for freedom in different countries and cultures.

Pulitzer Prize winner Strout’s Maine-set mystery novel “Tell Me Everything” and writer'-filmmaker July’s “All Fours,” in which a “semi-famous artist” seeks a new life, are shortlisted for the 30,000 pound ($39,000) prize. It's open to female English-language writers from any country.

The contenders also include Dutch writer Yael van der Wouden’s postwar story “The Safekeep” and German-born poet Aria Aber’s novel “Good Girl,” about a teenager exploring her dual German-Afghan heritage.

Also on the list are Iran-born writer Sanam Mahloudji’s intergenerational family saga “The Persians,” and “Fundamentally” by Britain's Nussaibah Younis, about an academic trying to rehabilitate women caught up with ISIS, The AP news reported.

Author Kit de Waal, who is chairing the panel of judges, said that the six books were “classics of the future” that explored “the importance of human connection.”

“What is surprising and refreshing is to see so much humor, nuance and lightness employed by these novelists to shed light on challenging concepts,” she said.

Previous winners of the fiction prize, founded in 1996, include Zadie Smith, Tayari Jones and Barbara Kingsolver.

Last year, award organizers launched a companion Women’s Prize for Nonfiction to help rectify an imbalance in publishing. In 2022, only 26.5% of nonfiction books reviewed in Britain’s newspapers were by women, and male writers dominated established nonfiction writing prizes.

Winners of both nonfiction and fiction prizes will be announced on June 12 at a ceremony in London.