This isn't a big surprise to any of us, but the part that grabbed my attention is this:
San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. has an obesity product, Lorcaserin, already in late-stage trials. In March, the company is expected to report critical safety results. The drug, which hasn't shown safety issues so far, has been under intense scrutiny by analysts who are concerned about its marketing viability, since Lorcaserin is said to work similarly to now discontinued Fen-Phen, which caused heart problems.
I don't know if fen-phen showed the pulmonary hypertension side effect in clinical trials, but if it did, that sure as hell didn't stop them from marketing it or stop doctors from prescribing it (been there done that).
The other part that grabbed my attention is this:
Meanwhile, Amylin has seen success with its diabetes drug Byetta, after patients reported weight loss as a welcomed side effect, prompting doctors to prescribe it off-label to overweight patients.
This particular drug has as one of its side effects, pancreatitis in some susceptible people (including diabetics). It is also fairly new, so I'm betting that they don't know all of the effects for diabetics, let alone prescribing it for non-diabetics as a weight-loss drug, which was not its intended purpose.
I find this kind of thing very disturbing, as if being fat is such a bad thing (if you're fat, you have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel) that it doesn't matter what side effects you have to suffer from drugs/WLS, it's all worth it just to not be fat anymore.
I have a suggestion for them. If you want to cut the rates of obesity, try going back to the BMI charts of 10 years ago (how many "overweight/obese" people would then be "normal" again...hmmmmmm?). Oh right, then there wouldn't be any obesity epidemic and diet companies/pharmaceutical companies wouldn't be able to take billions of dollars from unsuspecting consumers. Gee, that just breaks my heart (NOT).
The news reporter was clearly writing from a press release and one of those "forward looking statements." Arena's Lorcaserin is years from FDA approval, if it gets it. The company announced on December 13 that they'd just begun screening people for their Phase 3 trials (#2 and #3), required for FDA documentation. It's a long way away from completing the trial, playing with the stats and publishing their results, and then getting FDA approval. Given how this drug works, I suspect they'll have quite a few issues with mental health complications.
ReplyDeleteSandy
Thanks, Sandy, for the heads-up on that one. Just what we need, a weight-loss drug that has mental health complications (as if we don't have enough of those with the OMG OBESITY EPIDEMIC hysteria/diet commercials bombarding us day and night).
ReplyDeleteIt's really frightening how people are willing to risk their health with taking drugs like this. It's effen criminal that drug companies would manufacture and sell these things. The hatred of fat is just so insane.
ReplyDeleteursula - it sure it and it drives me nuts sometimes. Sorry I didn't respond to you earlier, my pc is in the shop so I'm checking everything on DH's pc and I don't have anything on his but my emails. I'll be so glad when I get mine back on Monday.....lol
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