Will Doctors Prescribe The New Diet Pills?
2 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // September 16th, 2010 // 9:00 am
At first blush, diet pills appear to be all the rage these days. There are no fewer than three new obesity drugs that have generated enormous interest - among investors and patients - this year. And for awhile, the anticipation has suggested this troubled market - which has been littered with recalls, litigation and limited effectiveness - may finally generate real progress.
Recently, though, there has been as much concern as optimism. Two months ago, an FDA advisory panel voted against marketing approval for Vivus’ Qnexa pill over worries about usage by pregnant women and psychiatric side effects (back story). [Yesterday, another panel couldn't decide whether to yank Abbott Labs' much older Meridia drug, which is linked to cardiovascular risk, or issue stronger warnings].
Today, an FDA advisory committee meets to determine the future of Arena Pharmaceuticals’ Lorqess, which already showed signs of causing valvulopathy, was unexpectedly linked to malignancies in rats (see the FDA briefing documents here), has dashed hopes that the drug will win approval. As Hapoalim Securities analyst Jon LeCroy writes to investors, there is “unacceptable safety…relative to the product’s limited efficacy.” The last in the trio of new diet drugs, Orexigen Therapeutics’ Contrave, will be reviewed an FDA panel in a few months.
The develoments suggest that risk management strategies are likely to be required for any drug that is approved by the FDA. But what do docdors think? A survey last April of 1,500 primary care physicians by Ipsos, a market research firm, found that between one-half and two-thirds would likely (as in definitely or probably) prescribe one or more of these new diet drugs to treat their obese or overweight patients.
Moreover, about one-half said they would recommend one of the drugs to a colleague and at least two-thirds agreed the pills would generate a lot of excitement. Among docs likely to prescribe, about 70 percent would opt for standard therapy treatment within a year. Of course, they were asked their views before the latest setbacks. Nonetheless, the reactions suggest that if one or more of the diet pills do win FDA approval, obesity drugs may be hot, notwithstanding risk management strategies and a lack of insurance coverage.
pic thx to alan cleaver on flickr
John Q
Of course they will prescribe it. Why not? Doctors are covered by the standard “it’s FDA approved” without any worry or concern they will be blamed for negligence. Doctors continually prescribe medications instead of the proper teaching method of better eating and life style. With some compassion and instructions a doctor’s office could teach no sugar, no salt, healthy fats, etc and have a greater success rate instead of heaping more diseases to the patient with these novel drugs.
Where is the responsibility of the doctor while prescribing these meds that clearly have extreme side effects in studies? If we all lived by the doctors and the FDA rule of thumb to safety, why stop at red lights? Because the government said it is ok doesn’t cut it.
industry insider
It doesn’t matter. These pills will quickly find their way to the internet, where you will be able to buy in quantities desired, after a brief “health questionnaire”, and approval by an “internet physician”.