Bogus pharmacist case scrutinised

From BBC News:
The medicines regulator is re-examining how a bogus pharmacist bought large quantities of slimming pills and got funding from a pharmaceutical giant.

Robin Huxley, a salesman from Barnsley, was jailed last month for 14 months for illegally prescribing Xenical.

Roche, which markets Xenical, believed Huxley was a pharmacist running a group of slimming clinics alongside a doctor.

The company says it was simply the victim of crime, but an ex-employee has raised concerns about its practices.

Dr. Ryta Kuzel, the former head of regulatory affairs, said: "I feel strongly Roche's business practices have put people's lives at risk and they haven't been called to account." ...more

Anti-obesity drugs provide only modest weight loss

From CTV News:
Anti-obesity medications can only help obese patients lose a "modest" amount of weight, report Canadian researchers in a review of a group of studies on the long-term effectiveness of the drugs.

The researchers from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary reviewed 30 placebo-controlled studies in which adults took anti-obesity drugs for a year or longer. ...more

Over-the-counter diet pill goes on sale in U.S.

I remember when Xenical, the prescription version of orlistat, was introduced in Canada. It was heavily hyped, but because of price, lack of noticeable benefits and bad side effects it mostly faded out of view. I suspect the OTC version will face the same fate. A few people will benefit from this treatment and lose some weight. However, the majority of patients will try it, and then realize that you really do have to cut your fat intake or else you get nasty bowel-related side effects. As soon as they realize it's not a magic pill or when they soil their pants, they'll stop using it. I doubt we'll see it in Canada anytime soon.

From CTV News:
Canadian health officials watched closely on Friday as Alli, the first over-the-counter diet pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, went on sale south of the border.

The drug, which reduces the amount of fat absorbed by the body after a meal by roughly 25 per cent, is available in Canada under a different name, but still requires a prescription.

"It's been around for quite a long time," Yoni Freedhoff of the Bariatric Medical Institute, an Ottawa-based weight loss centre, told CTV News.

"Studies show that people taking it for two years lose up to eight kilograms. But the way it works, of course, is by either delaying or blocking the absorption of fat in the gut. And the way it blocks it is, well, it comes out -- 'fast' is a good objective to use." ...more