The Change Mariner

Rimonabant: Quit Smoking & Lose Weight

KansasCity.com:

How's this for a salubrious daily double - a pill that helps you quit smoking and lose weight at the same time? An experimental drug shows significant promise of doing just that, according to two studies presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.

The drug, rimonabant, is being developed by a French firm, Sanofi-Synthelabo, and the human tests are being directed by the company's drug development arm in Malvern, Pa., near Philadelphia.

The company plans to seek approval next year to market the drug, according to Douglas Greene, Sanofi-Synthelabo vice president of corporate, medical and regulatory affairs.

Such a pill could target two of the nation's chief health problems. Smoking is the country's top preventable killer, accounting for 435,000 deaths in 2000. The combination of poor diet, obesity and physical inactivity is right behind, with 400,000 deaths.

In one study of rimonabant, overweight people dropped an average of 20 pounds in a year and shrank their waistlines by about 3 inches. The drug also reduced other risks for heart disease: It improved levels of good cholesterol and reduced triglycerides - fatty substances in the blood stream. In a second medical trial, rimonabant helped smokers almost double their odds of quiting.

Posted by Bob King at March 10, 2004 08:10 PM | TrackBack
Related Categories: Industry - Healthcare | Industry - Pharmaceutical/Biotech | Quadrant - Technological | Theme - 'Obesity Epidemic'

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