Roche 's Xenical, which prevents the body from digesting fat, causes diarrhea in some patients.
Antifat drugs like Roche's Xenical and Abbott's Meridia have been held back by side effects.
The newest fat pills, Hoffmann-La Roche's Xenical and Abbott Laboratories' Meridia, are struggling after a promising start.
An FDA advisory panel was deadlocked last March when it voted on a recommendation to approve Xenical.
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The only FDA-approved weight loss medications are sibutramine (Meridia), orlistat (Xenical), and phentermine.
Genentech, maker of Xenical, said it had not yet thoroughly reviewed the petition.
The group said that orlistat, sold in prescription form as Xenical and over-the-counter as Alli, causes serious side effects such as liver injury and kidney failure.
Unlike Xenical, previous diet drugs, such as Redux and Phenfluramine, best known as the "phen" in Fen-Phen, worked on the brain to control the body's feeling of "fullness".
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GlaxoSmithkline now sells an over-the-counter version of Xenical called Alli.
Meridia, from Abbott Laboratories (nyse: ABT - news - people ), and Xenical, from Roche , have both failed to ignite, partly because of side effects.
Expectations were high for Xenical, according to weight-loss experts.
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One side effect of Xenical is cramping and diarrhea.
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