New twist in the case of Levothyrox, this thyroid drug whose new formula (marketed from March 2017) is not unanimous. This Friday, September 8, 2017, a gathering of about ten patients took place in front of the National Assembly (in Paris) to demand the abandonment of the new formula, accused of causing significant side effects – cramps, aches headache, dizziness…
Present at the rally, lawyer Marie-Odile Bertella-Geffroy explained to our colleagues at AFP that she had been contacted by the French Association of Thyroid Patients (AFMT, at the origin of the demonstration) in order to take the matter to court. Thus, a complaint against X with the prosecution of the public health center will be filed “next week”, for “endangering the lives of others, harm to physical integrity and failure to assist a person in danger”.
A complaint against X will be filed “next week”
At the same time, the French Association of Thyroid Patients has requested the release of stocks of Levothyrox (old formula) still available in Germany and Belgium: the leaders of the association do not hesitate to speak of a “health emergency” .
For their part, the health authorities do not want reassurance: questioned by AFP, the director of biopharmaceutical activities of the Merck laboratory in France believes that the new formula of Levothyrox “is an innovation which will allow better maintenance of the thyroid balance of each patient over time” but the manager also claims to “hear the suffering of certain patients in this phase of adaptation”.
In total, 5000 cases of undesirable side effects linked to the new composition of Levothyrox have been recorded in France. However, 3 million French people today consume this drug in France.
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Levothyrox: risk of shortage of an alternative drug
Thyroid: the new formula of Levothyrox would cause adverse effects
Levothyrox: open letter from actress Anny Duperey
