Two patients in Britain taking the anti-obesity drug sibutramine died Friday. The drug is made by Abbott Laboratories and marketed under the name Reductil in Europe and Meridia in the United States. Britain's Department of Health also announced that 212 reports of "suspected adverse reactions have been received in association with sibutramine."

The deaths come just weeks after Italy's Pharmaceutical Commission suspended the sale of products containing sibutramine after fifty "adverse events" were linked to the drug. Italian medical officials said Meridia's "beneficial effects" would have to be reevaluated before the suspension would be lifted. Health officials in Britain, though, warn that the patients' underlying medical conditions, rather than Meridia, may have contributed to their deaths.

Nearly 9 million patients have used Meridia since it was approved in 1997.