Phase II Testing For Weight Loss Drug

A scientist working for an Israeli company believes that he has come across a wonder drug which could help beat the worldwide problem of obesity. With 2/3rds of the United States adult population being overweight or obese and rising rates of weight related diabetics and heart patients, any advances in the weight loss drugs world are welcome. The company called OBEcure claims that they came across the invention almost by accident and very excited about its prospects as it could earn them millions of dollars as well as finally banish obesity from millions of constantly overweight people.

A big advantage for this weight loss drug the scientist claim is that it already known to be safe and comes without side effects as it is already on sale but for a different use than for weight loss. In fact the drug in question is currently available as a solution to vertigo and is on sale in the United States. What has been discovered is not a new compound but merely a new application for a drug that is already through the rigorous FDA testing and scrutiny. 

The scientists noted that people often reported weight gain when they used antihistamines for allergies and this is because they block H1, a brain receptor. The scientists set out to reverse the process by stimulating the H1 brain receptors. This is exactly what this drug does, stimulating the receptors in the brain for histamine thus causing weight loss. The drug has been in use for more that forty years but always as a drug for vertigo, which means that it has been sufficiently used to really know if there are any side effects and problems with its use.

The Israeli company are fortunate that they will not have to spend dollars on the testing of the new drug as all the work has been previously done. The only hurdle now for the company is to definitely prove that it is effective against weight gain and that it can meet the FDA rules on the efficacy of weight loss drugs. In fact the FDA stipulates that a weight loss drug must show a 5% weight loss yearly coupled with a good diet and physical exercise. The company OBEcure claim that in their own testing using a a double blind placebo procedure they can show this.

The company has been given the green light by the FDA to go straight into Phase II clinical testing which involves hundreds more people using the drug. If these tests go well the chances are that the world is looking at another blockbuster weight loss drug. Obesity research has seen unprecedented amounts of investment over the last few years as pharmaceutical companies realise that obesity is becoming a major source of illness and that it has been growing constantly.

Weight loss drugs have received a negative image over the last few years with many having side effects and one called Fen-phen was even blocked from sale after reports showed that it could harm the heart valves. Other drugs like Xenical and Reductil, while giving results are still not the answer to everyone's weight problems.