FDA Says No To Qnexa

the FDA is clamping down extremely hard on weight loss medications

After the Arena Pharmaceuticals setback with their lorcaserin diet drug, the Food & Drug Administration has yet again sounded the death knell for another once promising obesity medication called Qnexa.

Vivus, the owner of Qnexa released a statement saying that the FDA had requested them to provide information surrounding the connection to heart problems and birth defects.  Vivus said that they would have all the information that the FDA required in about six weeks but it nevertheless doesn't look like there's much hope for approval.

Qnexa had already been given the thumbs down by an FDA advisory committee earlier this year with a 10-6 vote against approval.  Qnexa was probably the most effective of the new weight loss medications being tested with some patients losing as much as ten percent of their body weight after one year compared to only 1.7 percent for those using the placebo.
Qnexa is controversial partly because it makes use of phentermine which is a powerful stimulant which was once used as part of a now banned the medication called fen-phen, which resulted in heart valve damage and a multibillion dollar payout by Wyeth its manufacturer. 

With the FDA clamping down extremely hard on weight loss medications more and more people are turning towards Xenical.  This weight loss drug made by Roche has arguably the safest profile of all diet medications. Unlike most weight loss drugs which restrict appetite or speed up the metabolism, Xenical works by removing around 1/3 of the fat that you consume from your digestive system. 

Xenical which is a prescription medication in the United Kingdom does have side effects but they tend to be mild and can be easily controlled with a proper diet. You can read all about Xenical on the Ukmedix Forum and also have an online consultation and read about its side effects on the Ukmedix web site.