fen-phen

American  

[fen-fen] / ˈfɛnˌfɛn /

Or fen/phen

noun

Pharmacology.

1. a drug that is a combination of fenfluramine and phentermine, formerly used in treating obesity but withdrawn from the market because of its potential to cause valvular heart disease.

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Etymology

Origin of fen-phen

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Safety problems in the 1990s with the anti-obesity treatment known as fen-phen, which had to be withdrawn from the market, were also fresh in their minds.

From Seattle Times

Compared with fen-phen, a popular weight-loss drug in the 1990s that was eventually linked to heart-valve problems, doctors are less concerned about semaglutide, because older drugs in its class have been used to treat diabetes for nearly two decades.

From New York Times

But after users experienced heart valve and lung disease, fen-phen was withdrawn from the market in 1997.

From Salon

Fen-phen was pulled off shelves in 1997 after a large number of people experienced harmful side effects, such as damage to the heart valves, making it an unlikely candidate for a “better” MDMA.

From Scientific American

TV critics largely sniffed at the phenomenon: The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley wrote “Like junk bonds or fen-phen, Mr. Jackson is one of those phenomena that seem destined to be yanked from the public at any minute but are irresistible while they last,” and the Los Angeles Times’ Howard Rosenberg, suggesting the furor had drowned out the preparations for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, quipped, “I don’t know about you, but I’d go to war to stop another TV show from even mentioning Michael Jackson.”

From Slate