Servier, lab founder in drug scandal, dies at 92

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PARIS (AP) — Jacques Servier, the founder of France’s
second-largest pharmaceutical group who became ensnared in a scandal
over a diabetes drug widely used for weight loss, has died.
Servier Research Group announced the death of 92-year-old Servier late Wednesday.
Servier
and his lab were at the center of one of France’s biggest health
scandals, in which the drug Mediator was alleged to be responsible for
the deaths of hundreds of people. The European Medicines Agency pulled
Mediator from shelves when it found that its active ingredient,
benfluorex, could lead to a dangerous thickening of heart valves. The
ingredient is a derivative of fenfluramine, whose use in a diet drug in
the U.S. was linked to similar problems.
In a statement, the lab said Servier’s "life revolved around the research of innovative
medicines."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
PARIS (AP) — Jacques Servier, the founder of France’s
second-largest pharmaceutical group who became ensnared in a scandal
over a diabetes drug widely used for weight loss, has died.
Servier Research Group announced the death of 92-year-old Servier late Wednesday.
Servier
and his lab were at the center of one of France’s biggest health
scandals, in which the drug Mediator was alleged to be responsible for
the deaths of hundreds of people. The European Medicines Agency pulled
Mediator from shelves when it found that its active ingredient,
benfluorex, could lead to a dangerous thickening of heart valves. The
ingredient is a derivative of fenfluramine, whose use in a diet drug in
the U.S. was linked to similar problems.
In a statement, the lab said Servier’s "life revolved around the research of innovative
medicines."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.

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