New Weight-Loss Drug Shows Promise in Early Study

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Those who took the lower dose of taranabant reduced food intake 1 percent compared to the placebo group, while those who took the larger dose of the drug reduced food intake by 22 percent compared to the placebo group. The Meridia group reduced caloric intake by 12 percent.

With the higher dose of taranabant, this would drop a 2,000-calorie-a-day intake to about 1,600 calories, Heymsfield said, enough to lead to weight loss.

But as the dose of taranabant increased, so did the adverse effects, including gastrointestinal and psychiatric problems. In the 6-milligram dose group, more than 53 percent reported some sort of gastrointestinal problem, such as diarrhea, nausea, frequent bowel movements or vomiting.

And more than 27 percent of those taking that dose had psychiatric effects. Anxiety was the most commonly reported problem, but also reported were mood swings, depression, insomnia, irritability or nervousness.

Even so, Heysmfield said, the company plans to ask for FDA approval of taranabant later this year.

"It's a new class of obesity drugs, and it works through a different mechanism," he said. If approved, it would offer those who are obese and unable to lose enough weight through diet and exercise alone more options, he added. Other diet drugs work in different ways, such as decreasing the absorption of food in the gut.

One expert familiar with this class of drugs had mostly praise for the new studies. "This is a new way of thinking about regulation of food intake," said Dr. Steven R. Smith, a professor and assistant to the associate director of clinical research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, La.

"The paper is extremely well-written," said Smith, who was speaking on behalf of the Obesity Society. Besides reporting results, he said, the paper adds information about how the drug works.

But he said the new drug, if approved, won't be for everyone. "This is not going to be a class of drugs that people take because they want to look good on vacation" and lose 10 pounds or so, Smith said.