If you are looking to lose weight with the help of a pill, than you will likely have one less to choose from. The FDA has asked Abbott Laboratories to remove their drug, Meridia from shelves. According to the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcome Trial, it has been shown that patients using the weight loss drug Meridia have had a 16 percent increase in their rate of heart attacks and strokes. Sibutramine is the actual the main drug behind the name brand Meridia, and was actually shown to only increase weight loss a small amount compared to a placebo drug, in recent studies.

Meridia had worldwide sales of $350 million last year. The drug, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the US back in 1997, has been in a tailspin recently sales wise. Last year there were only about 250,000 prescriptions written for the drug, a far cry from the 1.3 million prescriptions written for it in it’s first year, 1998.

Anyone taking Meridia, or drugs containing sibutramine are advised to immediately stop and call their doctors for advice on other weight loss drugs on the market.

Abbot Laboratories, is a pharmaceuticals health care company headquartered in Chicago Illinois. Last year they had over $30 billion in revenue and employed approximately 72,000 people.