FDA weighs risks, benefits of new diet pillst

14 Aug 2006

ATLANTA — Diet pills come and diet pills go, but still the fat clings to the collective hips and bellies of 167 million of us in the United States.

Two pharmaceutical companies are hoping that two new drugs under review by the Food and Drug Administration might do what dozens before have tried but failed to do — expunge us of some of our fat, without killing us in the process. Dozens of drugs over the years have held great promise but few have had lasting results.

"The whole history of weight-loss drugs has been very disappointing," said Morgan Downey, executive director of the American Obesity Association. "It will be interesting to see what happens with these."

One drug, rimonabant, was approved in Europe in June. It is available in the United Kingdom, being marketed as Acomplia. It would be available by prescription only.

The second weight-loss drug before the FDA is for over-the-counter usage. It, too, works differently than appetite suppressants, but not the way that rimonabant does.

Alli (pronounced AL-lie) blocks the body's absorption of fat. It is a lower-dose version of the prescription drug Xenical, or orlistat, as it is known generically, which has been on the market since 1999.

Source:http://www.pulsejournal.com