Around the Net

Regulators Reviewing Three New Drugs That Curb Appetite

Three new anti-obesity medications that have been submitted for approval to the Food and Drug Administration by small drug developers could hit the market in coming months, Thomas Gryta reports, although agency approval is not assured. Just two anti-obesity drugs currently are approved for long-term treatment, and both can cause undesirable side effects in many patients. These face similar hurdles.

All three drugs dampen appetite by affecting the patient's central nervous system, according to Charles Billington, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota and medical director of the obesity program at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. "To say that you are going to do that without any side effects is just not understanding how things work in real life," he says.

The three new drugs are Arena Pharmaceutical's Lorcaserin, Vivus' Qnexa, and Orexigen Therapeutic's Contrave. Each company has held talks with a larger concern to help sell the products but no agreements have been signed, Gryta writes.

advertisement

advertisement

Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »

Next story loading loading..