Xenical Drug

Roche Holding, which is trying to revive demand for its Xenical obesity pill, said the medicine may delay or prevent the development of the most common form of diabetes. Patients taking Xenical who also made lifestyle changes reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 37%, a four-year study sponsored by Roche showed. Switzerland's second-biggest drug maker has changed its marketing for the pill and now offers three months of the medicine free to U.S. patients who purchase three months' worth.

Federal health advisors voted Monday to recommend over-the-counter sales of a weight-loss pill now sold only with a prescription. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare still needs final Food and Drug Administration approval before it can sell a nonprescription version of orlistat, a diet pill already marketed in prescription form as Xenical. The FDA in 1999 approved the prescription version of the fat-blocking pill made by Roche.

Federal health advisors voted Monday to recommend over-the-counter sales of a weight-loss pill now sold only with a prescription. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare still needs final Food and Drug Administration approval before it can sell a nonprescription version of orlistat, a diet pill already marketed in prescription form as Xenical. The FDA in 1999 approved the prescription version of the fat-blocking pill made by Roche.

Drugstore shelves are brimming with shakes, herbs and other products to facilitate weight loss -- but the vast majority of them have not been shown to work. It's possible that a proven medication that helps modestly with weight loss may join their ranks next year. The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has asked the Food and Drug Administration for permission to sell a low-dose version of its diet drug Xenical over the counter.

Drugstore shelves are brimming with shakes, herbs and other products to facilitate weight loss -- but the vast majority of them have not been shown to work. It's possible that a proven medication that helps modestly with weight loss may join their ranks next year. The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has asked the Food and Drug Administration for permission to sell a low-dose version of its diet drug Xenical over the counter.

The arrival this week of the latest wonder drugs--the anti-impotence pill Viagra and a new anti-obesity tablet called Xenical--has Britons questioning just how much health and happiness taxpayers should subsidize. Fearing a huge and costly demand, Britain's National Health Service has banned its doctors from prescribing Viagra until the department can come up with a way to ensure that only "deserving" patients get the drug for a reduced fee.

Xenical, the new prescription fat-fighting pill due to arrive this week in pharmacies nationwide, is already getting mixed reviews. Many who are trying to lose a lot of weight are understandably eager to take the pill, approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month, because it blocks an enzyme in the gastrointestinal tract and decreases absorption of dietary fat by about 30%.

While testing a drug for Lou Gehrig's disease in the mid-1990s, scientists noticed that people receiving the drug were losing weight. It was an unexpected and unwanted side effect. They eventually concluded that the medication wasn't helpful for people with the degenerative motor neuron disease, but they didn't forget their finding. Today, the drug, Axokine, is poised to become the next prescription weight-loss medication.

Roche Holding, which is trying to revive demand for its Xenical obesity pill, said the medicine may delay or prevent the development of the most common form of diabetes. Patients taking Xenical who also made lifestyle changes reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 37%, a four-year study sponsored by Roche showed. Switzerland's second-biggest drug maker has changed its marketing for the pill and now offers three months of the medicine free to U.S. patients who purchase three months' worth.

Xenical, the new prescription fat-fighting pill due to arrive this week in pharmacies nationwide, is already getting mixed reviews. Many who are trying to lose a lot of weight are understandably eager to take the pill, approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month, because it blocks an enzyme in the gastrointestinal tract and decreases absorption of dietary fat by about 30%.

The arrival this week of the latest wonder drugs--the anti-impotence pill Viagra and a new anti-obesity tablet called Xenical--has Britons questioning just how much health and happiness taxpayers should subsidize. Fearing a huge and costly demand, Britain's National Health Service has banned its doctors from prescribing Viagra until the department can come up with a way to ensure that only "deserving" patients get the drug for a reduced fee.