New Zealand natural sweetener maker BioVittoria has got the approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Fruit-Sweetness monk fruit concentrate. The company says its product is the first and the only natural zero-calorie fruit concentrate sweetener to win GRAS notification from the FDA so far. BioVittoria CEO David Thorrold says the notification now clears the way for its commercial application.

Magnetic stimulation therapy can beat depression when medication and therapy haven’t worked, according to the December issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter. The therapy, called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), involves using brief powerful electromagnetic pulses to alter brain activity. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the therapy for patients whose depression hasn’t improved with medications — estimated to be from 10 to 20 percent of those with the illness.

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A report indicates that more “magic bullet” type anti-obesity drugs, Qnexa from Vivus, Lorcaserin hydrochloride from Arena Pharmaceuticals and Contrave from Orexigen, are destined to enter the FDA approval process soon. Reports are that obese patients who took one of the medications along with reducing calories and exercising lost about 15% of their starting weight in a 12-month period.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc’s experimental obesity pill lorcaserin met one of two federal weight-loss goals, a result sufficient to seek US approval of the drug. About 47 percent of patients on lorcaserin after one year of treatment lost 5 percent or more of their body weight compared with 25 percent of those taking a placebo, or dummy pill, Arena said.

The FDA said its regulators are assessing at least 32 reports of liver problems occurred in patients between 1999 and 2008 by taking the weight-loss drug orlistat, sold as a prescription drug Xenical and more recently, as an over-the-counter medication called Alli. Of the 32 reports of liver problems the FDA has in hand, 27 patients were hospitalized and six suffered liver failure. In an “early communication” of a drug safety review, the FDA said it will also review additional data on “suspected cases of liver injury” submitted by drug firms that make and market orlistat in its branded and generic forms.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ New Drug Application (NDA) for Plan B® One-Step emergency contraception (levonorgestrel tablet, 1.5 mg). With new Plan B® One-Step, women can help prevent an unintended pregnancy resulting from unprotected sex or contraceptive failure with just one pill in one dose. While the FDA has expanded the over-the-counter (OTC) access to Plan B® One-Step to consumers aged 17 or more, younger girls will require a prescription.

Sunwin International Neutraceuticals, Inc. has announced the production launch of Rebaudioside A 95. It is one of the highest Stevia grades available in the market today. Sunwin’s stevia is an all natural product derived from naturally sweet Stevia plant cultivars. Sunwin’s Reb A 95 is comprised of 99.5% steviol glycosides, the naturally occurring compounds that give stevia its sweetness. Stevia is used worldwide for decades as a sweetening agent and is highly recommended for people suffering from diabetes and obesity. Applications are already pending in front of the US Food and Drug Administration for approval.

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.