This sentence, unprecedented in terms of deception, is justified by "the seriousness of the facts", argued one of the advocates general, Jean-Philippe Rivaud, considering "derisory" the amount of fines incurred "in view of the damage caused".

"Unfair information" of doctors, "concealment" vis-à-vis health authorities, patients "used for commercial purposes", attack on "confidence in medicine"... During two days of indictment before the Paris Court of Appeal, the representatives of the prosecution detailed at length the grievances attributed to the laboratory and its former number two Jean-Philippe Seta.

Both have been retried since January for "aggravated deception", "manslaughter and unintentional injury", "improper obtaining of marketing authorisation" and "fraud".

Marketed since 1976 as an adjuvant to antidiabetic treatments but often improperly prescribed as an appetite suppressant until it was banned in 2009, Mediator is held responsible for hundreds of deaths.

Fourteen years after the revelation of one of the worst French health scandals, the two attorneys general have demanded a fine of 13.5 million euros against the six companies of the Servier group prosecuted, the maximum incurred.

Above all, they demanded an "additional penalty of confiscation of the proceeds of the offence", estimating at 153 million euros the profit made by Servier on sales of the Mediator during the period of prevention (1994-2009), to which they added research and development expenses, considering that the studies launched on the Mediator were only intended to "try to save the drug".

At first instance, the prosecutor's office had requested about 10 million euros in fine against Servier, finally sentenced to 2.7 million.

'Lies in an organised gang'

Against Jean-Michel Seta, 69, former CEO of Servier, the prosecution has demanded five years in prison, including two farms, convertible with an electronic bracelet, and a fine of 200,000 euros.

Mediator: from scandal to judgment © Riwan MARHIC / AFP

They considered that the "active participation" of this "man of quality", right-hand man of the all-powerful founder Jacques Servier, who died in 2014, had "been demonstrated, despite his denials".

According to Advocate General Agnès Labreuil, he could not have been unaware of "that the Mediator was the subject of a pharmacovigilance investigation", nor the reports of serious adverse reactions as early as 1999.

In March 2021, Jean-Philippe Seta was sentenced to four years in prison suspended and a fine of 90,600 euros. The prosecution had requested five years in prison, three of which were firm and a fine of 200,000 euros.

Taking up each of the offenses accused of the defendants, the prosecution requested a confirmation of their conviction for "aggravated deception" against more than 7,500 civil parties and "manslaughter and unintentional injuries" against 95 victims.

"We are not in facts of ordinary deception that is often called the +crime of grocer +", argued Agnès Labreuil.

"Servier and M.Seta laboratories have deceived doctors and their patients for 33 years" by marketing "a product presenting a risk, (...) identified as early as the late 1960s," she said.

From 1995, when a study showed that two drugs close to Mediator increased the risk of serious lung disease, it even switched from "a hypothetical risk" to "a proven risk", which Servier made "the deliberate choice" to conceal.

The prosecution also asked for Servier's conviction for "fraud", considering that the acquittal at first instance was based on "legal errors".

At the appeal trial of the Mediator, the lawyers of the Servier group considered that one of the main offenses accused of the laboratory, the "aggravated deception", was prescribed Thomas © SAMSON / AFP / Archives

For Jean-Philippe Rivaud, Servier has used "fraudulent maneuvers" to lead "social organizations to reimburse" the Mediator.

At the hearing, Servier and Jean-Philippe Seta acknowledged an "error of assessment" but no criminal fault, and ensure to have scrupulously respected their regulatory obligations - "lies in organized gang", replied the prosecution.

The pulmonologist Irène Frachon, who had revealed the extent of the health scandal, welcomed the "very strong terms" used by the prosecution, calling the Mediator "poison" and Servier "executioner".

The defense will argue from Monday. The court's decision is expected on December 20.

© 2023 AFP