* At least 500 deaths thought to be caused by Mediator
* Drug pulled in France years after other countries
* Case put health authorities and industry under scrutiny
NANTERRE, France, May 14 (Reuters) - French drugmaker Servier and its founder went on trial on Monday accused of misleading patients and authorities about a diabetes drug often prescribed for weight loss that officials blame for at least 500 deaths.
The case, one of France's worst health scandals, has put authorities under scrutiny for allowing the sale of Mediator long after the medicine had been pulled in other European countries.
Although licensed as a diabetes treatment, the drug was widely prescribed, with a state subsidy, as an appetite suppressant to help people lose weight.
It is now suspected of causing heart valve disorders and was withdrawn in France in November 2009, around a decade after being pulled in Spain, Italy and the United States.
Several hundred civil plaintiffs who have joined the criminal case argue that Servier intentionally misled doctors about the drug, even though the dangers had been known since the 1990s.
State health inspectors also say the drug should have been withdrawn in France a decade earlier, and the plaintiffs are seeking damages and interest of 100,000 euros ($129,000) each.
"Servier let people use a toxic product for years. There is no debate about it," said Charles Joseph Oudin, one of the presumed victims' lawyers.
The focus of the Nanterre trial is on whether Servier made misleading claims, while a second, broader trial in Paris is due much later after an investigation that will examine allegations of manslaughter and corruption.
The defendants in Nanterre deny the allegations against them and are seeking to stop the trial on grounds that they should not be tried in two separate cases.
Servier's founder and president, 90-year-old Jacques Servier, and four other executives risk custodial sentences of up to four years plus fines. The privately-owned Servier and its subsidiary Biopharma also face fines and the possibility of being banned from some activities.
Mediator - designed as an add-on treatment for diabetes patients who were overweight - was sold to as many as 5 million people in France between 1976 and November 2009.
However, many of those were not diabetics but simply seeking help to lose weight.
The offices of the Afssaps healthcare regulator were searched by investigators in February in connection with the case.
Concerns about the agency - whose head resigned over the case - have grown following a scandal over defective breast implants manufactured by the now-bankrupt French company PIP.
The Mediator case has also drawn attention to pharmaceutical companies' influence in France's public health system as well as their sway over politicians.
It has also triggered a push at European Union level to step up monitoring of drug safety.
According to the health ministry, at least 500 people died of heart valve trouble in France because of exposure to Mediator's active ingredient, benfluorex. Other estimates based on extrapolations put the death toll closer to 2,000.
Less than a year before the drug was pulled, Servier was awarded France's national merit medal, the Legion d'Honneur, by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had previously served as his lawyer. ($1 = 0.7726 euros) (Writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.