The French pulmonologist and whistleblower Irène Frachon looks back on her years of battle against the appetite suppressant drug Mediator, which has been blamed for causing hundreds of deaths in France, before it was taken off the market in November 2009.

It has been a lifetime affair for Frachon. It began when as a young 27-year-old pulmonology intern she witnessed the harmful effects of one drug, branded as Isoméride. She later took up the fight against another product made by the same pharmaceutical firm, Servier: Mediator, an appetite suppressant sold as an anti-diabetic medication.

Now aged 59, Frachon has by no means given up the fight. On Jan. 9 she was present at the opening of the appeal trial of the Mediator case, and she has recently published a graphic novel, titled “Mediator, un crime chimiquement pur” (Mediator, a chemically pure crime).

This is one woman’s campaign against a drug maker that sold harmful products. A fierce struggle dedicated to the victims of Mediator. Victims that were often women, who, seeking to lose weight, took this anti-diabetic drug which was prescribed as an appetite suppressant. It’s a trial against cynicism, lies and against the exploitation of the diktat that women’s bodies must be thin.

Excerpts from the interview, done before the the opening of the appeal trial, follow.

Question: In France, your campaign against Mediator popularized the term whistleblower. You’ve fought with all your strength and you’re still not letting up…

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