Arena Pharmaceuticals stands to add a much-needed shot for investors, after the Food and Drug Administration rules on its experimental weight-loss drug, lorcaserin, this week.
On Thursday, the Public Citizen Health Research Group petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban the only approved long-term weight-loss drug, orlistat.
Though Acomplia was initially designed as a weight-loss drug, Sanofi researchers had found by 2001 that the affected receptors play a role in how the body processes fat.
Consumer demand for a new weight-loss drug is enormous.
CNN: FDA delays approval of new diet drug amid cancer concern
Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group -- part of the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen -- isn't hopeful about the development of an effective and safe weight-loss drug.
It also represents the general sense of caution on the part of the agency when approving new drugs, and therefore is bad news for companies like Arena Pharmaceuticals, which is expecting an FDA decision on its weight-loss drug at the end of the week.
In that same year, counterfeits of the weight-loss drug Alli sold over the Internet contained none of the active ingredient in the real drug but did contain sibutramine, the prescription-strength weight-loss drug Meridia, which has since been removed from the U.S. market because of concerns about cardiac side effects.
For example, he recently gained 455% in VIVUS (VVUS) , after he scooped up distressed shares of the weight-loss-drug maker in 2010.
FORBES: Boomers will fuel a bull market in health care stocks.
Drugs that stimulate the next subtype, the 5-HT2B receptor, have been associated with heart valve disease, the major reason for withdrawal of the fenfluramine part of the fen-phen weight loss combination drug.
Another problem for Arena: You have a population of patients that often goes on a drug hoping for a quick weight-loss fix.
FORBES: Arena's Obesity Drug Will Never Be A Blockbuster No Matter What The FDA Does
Citrus aurantium has seen a surge in use in weight-loss products since the banning of ephedra by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
CNN: Is bitter orange extract a safer diet pill alternative?
In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nixed not one but two new weight-loss drugs, lorcaserin and Qnexa, because of possible links to cancer (lorcaserin) and heart problems (Qnexa).
Overall, given the strength of 1- and 2-year weight-loss and the nature of FDA concerns, we continue to believe that Qnexa is an approvable drug.
Pi-Sunyer also said that he hopes the drug won't be used for temporary weight loss.
Obesity drug developer Vivus posted results from a 2-year study of its combination weight loss pill Qnexa this morning, showing maintenance of an 11.4% and 10.4% weight loss for patients taking two doses of the medicine, compared to 2.5% for patients on placebo.
Pfizer 's (nyse: PFE - news - people ) arthritis pill Bextra, Abbott Laboratories ' (nyse: ABT - news - people ) weight loss pill, Meridia, GlaxoSmithKline 's (nyse: GSK - news - people ) asthma drug, Serevent and Roche 's acne pill, Accutane all made the list.
应用推荐