- According to reports, the French court is investigating in Germany Merck KGaA MKKGYsaying the company provided misleading information regarding its thyroid drug product Levothyrox.
- The ruling did not concern the new formula for the product Levothyrox, but how the company provided information when switching from the old to the new formula.
- It is part of criminal proceedings initiated in March 2018.
- Reuters reported that Merck had already been sentenced in civil lawsuits for failing to provide sufficient information when changing the formulations of the drug.
- In March, France’s top court upheld an appeals court ruling ordering Merck to pay €1,000 each to compensate more than 3,300 people with thyroid problems after it changed the drug’s formula in 2017.
- They had said Merck’s decision to remove lactose from the drug to make it easier to handle led to side effects such as memory loss, weight gain and heart palpitations.
- Merck also confirmed that the Marseille judge had placed the company under judicial supervision and asked it to deposit 4.3 million euros and provide a bank guarantee of up to 7 million euros, which his lawyer described as “completely unjustified”.
© 2022 Benzinga.de. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Read full story here https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/22/10/29319552/germanys-merck-slapped-with-formal-french-investigation-related-to-its-thyroid-drug
