In 2003, Dr Eric Wooltorton, associate editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, warned about the risks of Diane-35, which is authorised for sale in 135 countries and sold in 116. Investigators are also looking into a second scandal over French-made faulty PIP silicone breast implants. The row has highlighted the links between drug regulators and lobbying drug companies in France, which has one of the world's highest levels of consumption of prescription drugs. The head of the French pharmaceutical firm Servier, maker of Mediator, is under formal investigation for manslaughter, and the head of France's public health agency has resigned. We have several inquiries going on that show that this non-authorised use is significant.'įrench medical authorities made headlines recently over Mediator, a diabetes drug widely prescribed by doctors as an appetite suppressant, which is believed to have killed at least 500 people.

This month, as concern about the pills grew, Professor Dominique Maraninchi said: 'Diane-35 is an acne treatment that also blocks ovulation. It is also investigating doctors' prescription habits. It said it had looked into the side-effects of the drug and its generics and would publish its findings this week. In a statement on Sunday, the Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament said Diane-35 had been authorised for sale in France since 1987, but only as a treatment for acne. The French government has advised doctors to limit the prescription of some contraceptive pills, and will stop reimbursing patients the cost of those drugs from April.Ĭritics describe the move as folly, and accuse the government of blowing the problem out of proportion. The average age of the women affected is 25.ĭozens of lawsuits against third- and fourth-generation contraceptive pills – known in Britain as combined pills – have been launched in France by women who have suffered side-effects including blood clots and strokes. An estimated 4-5m boxes of Diane-35 are sold in France every year. Le Figaro newspaper, which obtained a copy of the confidential internal document, said 37 of the women had not fully recovered after taking the pills made by Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company.

Diane 35 birth control for acne