Benfluorex is an anorectic and hypolipidemic agent that is structurally related to fenfluramine patented and manufactured by a French pharmaceutical company Laboratoires Servier. Two clinical studies have shown it may improve glycemic control and decrease insulin resistance in people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes; However Servier is suspected of having marketed Mediator (benfluorex) at odds with the drug's medical properties.

On 18 December 2009, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) recommended the withdrawal of all medicines containing benfluorex in the European Union, because their risks, particularly the risk of heart valve disease (fenfluramine-like cardiovascular side-effects), are greater than their benefits. Thus Frachon et al. showed a significantly higher prevalence of unexplained valvular heart disease in patients taking benfluorex compared to controls. and Weill et al. looked at over 1 million diabetic patients demonstrating a higher hospitalization rate in benfluorex takers for valvular heart disease.

Xavier Bertrand (born 21 March 1965 in Châlons-sur-Marne, Marne) is a French politician and was Minister of Labour, Employment and Health. He was Minister of Health for almost two years in Dominique de Villepin's government under President Jacques Chirac, then Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in François Fillon's second government. He played a foremost role in Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007.

Born on 21 March 1965 in Châlons-sur-Marne, in the Marne département, of the Champagne-Ardenne région of France, Xavier Bertrand is the son of Jean-Pierre Bertrand, a bank executive and of Madeleine Bedin, a bank employee.

Bertrand studied in Reims, where he obtained a masters in public law, then a Diplôme d'Études Supérieures Spécialisées (DESS) in local administration.

Insurance agent by profession, Bertrand married Emmanuelle Gontier, advisor in human resources on 11 July 1998. He is the father of three children, two of whom are twins.

He has been a member of the Grand Orient of France since 1995.

Gérard Bapt is a member of the National Assembly of France and represents the Haute-Garonne department. He is a member of the Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste) and works in association with the SRC parliamentary group.

Bapt is a medical doctor and heart specialist. He was first elected in 1978 and kept his seat until 1993; he was then re-elected in 1997 and has held his seat since.