French pharma firm convicted of manslaughter

PARIS: A French court on Monday found pharma giant Servier guilty of aggravated deceit and involuntary manslaughter over hundreds of deaths caused by its diabetes and weight loss pill, in one of France’s biggest health scandals.

The drug Mediator was on the market for 33 years and used by about five million people before being pulled in 2009 after being linked to serious heart problems -- more than a decade after concerns had first been raised.

The company "weakened people’s trust in the health system", the court’s presiding judge Sylvie Daunis said as she pronounced the verdict. "Although they knew about the risks for many years... they never took the necessary measures", she said. Instead Servier deliberately "misled" consumers, she said, fining it 2.7 million euros ($3.2 million) for aggravated deceit, involuntary manslaughter and causing unintentional injury.