Weight-loss pill 18 months away
November 10, 2004
By Lyndsay Moss
A "WONDER pill" that helps people lose
weight and quit smoking could be available in the
UK within 18 months.
Researchers hailed the latest results from trials of the rimonabant pill, which targets the part of the brain involved in motivation and controlling appetite.
The pill is being developed for the management of cardiovascular risk factors, including reducing abdominal obesity, improving lipid and glucose metabolism and as an aid to smoking cessation.
David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, described the arrival of the drug in the UK as "a mouth-watering prospect" for GPs. "It reduces weight, helps in quitting smoking and brings cholesterol levels down," he said.
"We can really save some lives with this, as well as reducing the large costs of treating obesity and its related complications such as heart disease in the NHS. The cost of treating obesity is phenomenal."
It is estimated that more than one in five Britons is now classed as obese and three-quarters are overweight. The latest results of a two-year trial, presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, showed patients taking a 20mg dose of rimonabant saw their body weight drop and waist measurements decrease.
Researcher Xavier Pi-Sunyer said they also found an increase in HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), resulting from use of the drug which will be sold under the trade name Acomplia.
The findings, involving more than 3000 patients in the US and Canada, revealed that those taking rimonabant lost more weight around their waist than those taking dummy pills.
After two years, patients taking a 20mg daily dose of the drug lost 8cm round their waists, compared to 4.9cm for those on a 5mg dose and 3.8cm in the placebo group.
Almost two-thirds of patients on 20mg of rimonabant lost more than five per cent of their body weight after two years on the drug. This compared to 36.7 per cent of those on the 5mg dose and 33.2 per cent on the placebo.
Source:http://news.scotsman.com
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