What You Should Know
There have been no weight loss drug approvals in the United States for the last 13 years, as of early 2012, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with pressure caused by a sharp rise in obesity, has opened the flood gates and started approving drugs once again. With previously approved drugs later being associated with heart failure, liver failure and death, it is no wonder the FDA took more than a decade to even consider approving another drug. The first drug to be approved was Belviq. On July 17, 2012 another drug was approved called Qsymia. Qsymia is a combination drug created from two drugs already on the market – phentermine and topiramate. Phentermine is already used as a weight loss drug, but topiramate is an anti-seizure medication.
List of Ingredients
Ingredients:
- Phentermine
- Topiramate
Product Features
After multiple weight loss drug scares, the FDA was extremely reluctant to approve additional weight loss drugs. More than a decade passed and the FDA still had not approved another drug, but doctors were not interested in living in the past as obesity rates pass 30%. Whether the FDA listened to doctors and medical professionals or they simply noticed the trend of weight gain we will probably never know, but we do know the drug Qsymia is the second weight loss drug approved in two weeks and that is extremely interesting.
Qsymia is not a new drug, but it is a new combination of two drugs. The drugs used to create the weight loss formula are phentermine and topiramate. Phentermine is an appetite suppressant designed to be used short-term and topiramate is an anti-seizure medication. Anti-seizure medications have been used off-label for more than two decades. Qsymia was first introduced to the FDA as Qnexa. Due to drug names currently on the market – the FDA required Vivus, the pharmaceutical company behind the drug, to change the name.
There are side effects associated with Qnexa, but the FDA decided that those side effects were better than the side effects of obesity. That decision could come back to haunt the FDA, according to one expert from the Yale Prevention Research Center.
Advantages
- Study results estimated average weight loss between 7 and 10%.
Disadvantages
- There are negative side effects associated with the drug combination.
- Not all dieters will be eligible to take Qsymia.
Conclusion
Qsymia or Qnexa is a weight loss drug that passed the FDA approval process in July, 2012. The drug can cause heart-related side effects and loss of concentration. There are serious concerns that taking Qsymia will lead to serious complications and death for some obese dieters. One expert from Yale University claims he believes the drug will be recalled due to serious complications.
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