Alli is the only diet drug permitted to be sold in the US without a prescription

Over the last five months the low dose versions of Xenical has been available for sale in America. Alli, as it is called contains exactly a half dose of the orlistat drug which is the key ingredient in the Xenical weight loss medication. In America it has been given authorisation by the FDA to be sold in a pharmacy without prescription and the sales have been huge.

GlaxoSmithKline who have the rights to sell Alli in America said that they have sold 2 million of the Alli starter kits since the drug was launched and this was more or less in line with their sales forecasts. Alli is the only weight loss drug permitted to be sold in America without a prescription that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The real challenge for GlaxoSmithKline however is whether they will be able to maintain these impressive sales figures. It is probable that in the future many people will suffer from side effects of Alli which are diarrhea and stomach cramps and thus they will stop taking the drug.

GlaxoSmithKline were extremely concerned that they had to educate all people who use the Alli drug to make sure that they use it properly.  We have seen at Ukmedix News that people who do not use Xenical or Alli properly do not lose as much weight as those who do use it properly and also are more likely to suffer from the side effects.

GlaxoSmithKline said that they are banking on selling between 5 and 6 million Alli weight loss kits this year and this will give them about one billion dollars in sales annually. At Ukmedix News we personally believe that the orlistat drug of any type should remain a prescription drug as research has shown that those people who use the drug with proper advice from their doctor are more likely to see good results with it than those who buy it over the counter.