Fen-Phen Safety Update Information

(fenfluramine, phentermine, dexfenfluramine)

The statements included in the background documents below reflect FDA's perspective on fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine based on the information available in November 1997.  As fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine are no longer marketed in the U.S. and have no current FDA labels, we refer you to the medical literature on this topic in PubMed.

Fen-Phen Interim Safety Recommendations 
[11/13/1997]

With the withdrawal of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine from the US market, many people have asked what they should do if they have taken these drugs. In order to try to provide guidance, based on the best information known at present, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health (all components of Department of Health and Human Services) collaborated with experts within the medical community to develop interim recommendations for patients. The interim recommendations were published in the November 14th issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). This Fen/Phen information page includes these interim recommendations  [11/13/1997] and a series of questions and answers about the recommendations   [11/13/1997].