Meridia recall fuels warning on weight loss
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The withdrawal of the obesity drug Meridia from the US market over the weekend set off a series of warnings in China by weight-loss experts who say the mainland market needs to be further regulated, as health problems from obesity drugs and treatments are on the rise.
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Meridia recall fuels warning on weight loss |
Abbott Laboratories, an American pharmaceutical giant, voluntarily agreed to pull Meridia, or sibutramine, off the American market Friday after the US Food and Drug Administration reviewed data in a study that showed a 16 percent increased risk for heart attack, stroke and death among people taking Meridia, compared with those taking a placebo.
The study, called the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcomes Trial, showed that the difference in weight loss among those taking the drug and those taking a placebo was tiny.
The study was conducted by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Abbott China said Saturday that the voluntary recall of Meridia does not involve the Chinese market, the Legal Mirror reported. A company spokesman told the paper that the last batch of Meridia imported to China was in June 2008 and it expired this January, so the Chinese market is not included in its latest voluntary recall.
The spokesman added that Abbott had suspended the distribution of Meridia in China because it did not sell well.
But the product, bearing the name "Reductil," can still be found at online stores that claim to have sourced the product from Hong Kong.
One package containing 28 capsules can be sold for up to 650 yuan (US$97).
Hu Zhaoheng, chief physician of the Endocrine Department at Peking University People's Hospital, told the Global Times that Meridia helps obese patients reduce weight by suppressing appetite.
"But sibutramine increases the risk of ventricular arrhythmia and high blood pressure, which could be fatal to patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases," he said.
There are several other similar weight-reduction pills that are modeled on sibutramine in the market, according to Hu.
The number of Chinese suffering from obsesity has exceeded 90 million, with nearly 40 percent of urban residents and more than 20 percent of primary and middle school students overweight, according to a recent report by the China Investment Consulting Company, a Shenzhen-based consultant.
The search for a weight-loss cure has intensified with the increased number of overweight people, as well as a growing number of young women pursuing beauty.
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