A drug company called Shionogi and Co based in Japan has released the results from its Phase IIa clinical trial of its weight loss pill S-2367. The twelve week trial involved obese volunteers being placed on a very low calorie diet of between 900 and 950 calories daily for 4 weeks before they were given the S-2367 drug. They were kept on the low calorie diet while they used the S-2367 drug and the results showed significant weight loss.

The other part of the clinical trial involved the use of the S-2367 drug without any pre-dieting period and the results here were good but the researchers felt that they were not 'statistically significant.' The research was done over 340 obese people in 20 different locations in the United States and were designed to check the effectiveness and safety of the S-2367 drug which works by blocking the receptor binding of neuropeptide Y (NPY for short) which is a neuro-transmitter that regulates energy balance as well as food consumption.

NPY levels have been seen to be very high in low weight and food deprived people that results in a stimulation of food intake. The S-2367 drug is designed to work against these high NPY levels and thus promote weight loss.

The drug company Shionogi said that the testing would continue over a longer time and that they were sure that the results would show the benefits of the drug for weight loss. The drug had no safety problems and was well tolerated in the clinical tst by the volunteers. A spokesman from Shionogi said that the final results and analysis of these Phase IIa trials would be unveiled in October 2006.

Shionogi is just one of the hundreds of companies worldwide that are investing in weight loss formulas and treatments. Ukmedix likes to keep up to date with all the latest treatments for weight loss and will be following the clinical progress of S-2367 carefully.