Fen-phen: What was it?
Fen-phen was a drug “cocktail” prescribed to thousands of patients in the early 1990s to treat obesity. It consisted of two drugs, fenfluramine (”fen”) and phentermine (”phen”).
Fenfluramine releases the hormone serotonin into the body, while phentermine is a stimulant that counteracts the drowsiness and altered moods associated with higher serotonin levels. The drugs had been used separately to aid in weight loss for years. Researchers found that when taken together, the drugs suppressed appetite and were effective in treating obesity.
The drug combination, manufactured by American Home Products, was heavily marketed and wildly popular. A Time magazine cover story in 1996 asked if fen-phen was “The New Miracle Drug?” and reported that doctors were writing tens of thousands of prescriptions a week to patients who lost 20 to 30 pounds in a few months. An early study of fen-phen’s effectiveness found that patients lost an average of about 15 percent of their body weight. A later study, however, found the drug became less effective over time and the average weight loss was about 3 percent.
Even as the fen-phen craze took off, some scientists worried about the drug’s long-term impact. A Mayo Clinic study in 1997 confirmed their fears when it reported that 24 patients developed heart valve disease after taking fen-phen. A public health advisory went out, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that patients stop taking fen-phen. Health problems attributed to the drug ranged from heart murmurs to potentially fatal heart and lung damage.
Within months, thousands of former fen-phen users sued American Home Products, now known as Wyeth. The company eventually agreed to pay more than $3 billion as part of a national settlement and paid millions of dollars more to resolve other lawsuits.
A lawsuit involving 440 people in Kentucky was settled for $200 million.