Obesity Drug, Empatic, tested well in clinical trials, but the company still has to make it past the FDA. Watch to find out more on this week’s WLS News.
People who struggle with obesity may soon have a new treatment option besides dieting or bariatric surgery. A new obesity drug called Empatic is testing well in clinical trials.
The drug’s company, Orexigen Therapeutics, reported that patients who used Empatic for six months lost an average of 22 pounds. Patients who used a placebo lost roughly four pounds.
The company also reported that nearly 83 percent of the Empatic users lost at least 5 percent of their body weight, and that almost 48 percent of the users lost 10 percent.
The drug company will meet with Food and Drug Administration representatives to discuss a final clinical study of Empatic before seeking approval to sell the product. The company has a second obesity drug called Contrave they’re hoping to bring to market in 2010. Video plays below.
October 28th, 2009 at 2:24 am
i want to know more about this product, can it be used 22years old girl suffering with hypothyroid, polycystic ovaries, and insulin??? She weights 87kgs, and wants to reduce weight…!!
January 7th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
It looks like it will (if approved) not be available for 2-3 years. http://www.tesofensine-information.com/empatic.html I also think a negative for Orexigen (the company working on Empatic) is that what would stop a doctor from simply prescribing the 2 combo generic drugs that are already approved to be taken together? thus eliminating the need for essentially paying for the trademark? Regardless, there seems to be quit a few drugs in the works lately for obesity, but there is no guarantee that any will make it through. The FDA has not been to favorable to obesity medications as of late due to some of the side effects being reported, the fact that Rimonabant was pulled from the EU etc… And don’t be fooled into thinking that phase 2 studies give anything the ‘all clear’. Phase 3 are really what is needed to indicate if it looks promising or not.