Stirling Products has received the first approval for its patent application for “Methods of decreasing fat deposits and body weight in mammals and birds” in New Zealand. The patent relates to the use of the company’s R-salbutamol compound. The product has the potential to reduce body weight. CEO and Managing Director of Stirling Products, Dr Calvin London said that he hoped that a series of approvals in other countries would follow. The company has already conducted studies for the compound on obese male Zucker rats.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has given positive opinion as a non-prescription product to GlaxoSmithKline’s alli (orlistat 60 mg). This takes the product to the stage of proposal for final approval by the European Commission. A marketing authorization will follow that. On the grant of license, alli 60 mg would become the first aid for weight loss to be available without prescription across Europe. It will be indicated for people above the age of 18 with a BMI more than 28 kg/m2.

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has made a recommendation to the European Commission (EC) for suspending Acomplia’s marketing authorization temporarily for the treatment of obese patients. The regulatory body concluded that the risks of Acomplia outweigh its benefits. Side effects such as depression have been a part of the warnings ever since the product was authorized in 2006. Sanofi-aventis is complying with the order, but believes that its product will continue to be an effective treatment.

Researchers from Vitagenes (a company that is a  part of the Campus program promoted by the University of Granada) in collaboration with some Australian scientists have discovered a new pattern/model of the molecule called interleukin-6 that may prove to be a boon for the patients suffering from obesity and diabetes. It was injected daily for two weeks. Then, its behavior and effects on the metabolism were analyzed. It was found that the molecule can help in development of drugs that can be beneficial in preventing and treating obesity. The study has been carried out on animals.

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. reviewed that Empatic™, the drug in its investigational stage, has proven to reduce the body weight of obese people, who had undergone year-long treatment without any diet and exercise, by 15%. Also, the company has presented some data on Contrave® that shows a 50% reduction in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, from baseline, in patients of obesity. Both these products, in their development phase, have high potential of solving obesity problems.

Leading pharmaceutical developer Merck & Co., Inc. will not be seeking regulatory approval for taranabant, an investigational drug, for the treatment of obesity. The company is going to discontinue its Phase III clinical development program. The available data from Phase III of the trial indicated that both effectiveness and incidence of adverse events were related to dosage, efficacy being greater and adverse events more in the higher doses. After taking this into account, the company determined that the overall profile of taranabant did not support the case for further development of the medication.

A study conducted by National Jewish Health has found out that steroids (glucocorticoids), the chief controller drug for asthma, are 40 percent less effective in obese patients of asthma than in those of normal weight. Studies have concluded that obesity increases the risk and intensity of asthma. Steroids are meant to raise the level of a molecule known as MAP kinase phosphatase-1. But the blood cells of obese people respond less efficiently to dexamethasone.

A study has found an injection to be effective in fighting obesity when given to certain blood vessels in stomach, leading to suppression of appetite. Researchers at John Hopkins University School of Medicine chose 10 healthy pigs for the obesity study as they have a anatomy very similar to humans.The pigs were injected a chemical (named sodium morrhuate) in blood vessels supplying certain parts of stomach. This reduced the amount of hunger hormone produced in pigs, ghrelin, by 60%. Lower eating levels made the pigs lose weight significantly.The procedure called gastric artery chemical embolization (GACE) would be a better option for both patients ( who can recover sooner) and doctors (as it is easy to perform).

The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) has collected data, the analysis of which concludes that Levemir ® (insulin injection), a once-daily treatment for patients of diabetes (type 1 and 2), can also lead to weight loss for insulin-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes. It provides a similar blood glucose response as glargine without any important difference in daily average consumption (DACON). The costs on pharmacy, too, remain the same.

A research at U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has concluded that Vigabatrin, a drug that can be used in treatment for drug addiction, causes rapid weight loss in animals. The medication induces satiety in non-obese animals as well as those bred to be obese, reducing their weight by 20%. Vigabatrin, currently, is in Phase II of the FDA-approved clinical trials as a treatment for cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. This drug will prove beneficial for both the severe form of obesity, that is genetic, and also for the obesity resulting from overeating, as this disorder is characterized by consumption patterns that are similar to drug-taking in those dependent on cocaine.