Xenical impresses in weight loss study

UK-based drug major GlaxoSmithKline says that data presented at the annual scientific meeting of the US Obesity Society (NAASO), showed that a combination of low-dose orlistat and a reduced calorie diet, provided greater reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol than a calorie restricted diet alone. The drug is manufactured by Switzerland's Roche under the trade name Xenical, and is co-marketed by GSK Consumer Healthcare in the USA.

The findings were based on two multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials that enrolled 576 patients. Conducted over a two-year period, the program compared the differences in weight loss and LDL reduction that either treatment regimen conferred.

The results demonstrated that 38% of those who received 60mg orlistat per day, plus a reduced calorie diet, achieved a favorable shift in LDL cholesterol levels, in comparison with 11% of the diet plus placebo group. The firm added that a greater number of drug-treated subjects achieved 5% weight loss than those on placebo (45% versus 29%).