Update – Qnexa New Weight Loss Drug for Obesity

UPDATE 9/18/2012 – Qsymia (phentermine/topiramate) a New Weight Loss Drug is now available

Vivus Pharmaceuticals announces today that Qsymia is now available for Weight Loss

It is the first available weight loss drug in the last 13 years. The weight loss pill is a combination of 2 existing drugs: Phentermine and topiramate. It will be a good tool for weight loss in addition to a plan that includes dietary change, exercise and behavior modification.

ORIGINAL POST 09/15/2009 – Qnexa -New Weight Loss Drug for Obesity

At a medical conference a few years ago, a physician discussed (only briefly) a new drug in the pipeline for weight loss. At that time, all that was really said was that it was a combination of phentermine and topiramate. As a practicing Bariatrician or weight loss doctor, I had already been using both drugs with a lot of success individually and therefore starting sometime after that conference, and in the right patient who meets certain qualifications, our office started to use them together. Since that time, we have had much success in the use of phentermine and topirimate both individually and together in the right patient.

In the news now, we get some indication that the drugs in combination are pretty good. Individually they have been known to be very useful for a long time. The new drug to have been recently tested is called Qnexa and is a combination of phentermine and topiramate.

Basically, those taking the combo drug lost 10.4% to 11% over a year versus 1.6-1.8% that took the placebo. 70% of the persons taking the drug lost at least 5% of their body weight. There were side effects (not severe) but many did not complete the year on the drug.

When confronted with excess weight, the use of medications is an option that, when used as part of a comprehensive weight loss program, is a valuable tool. When prescribing these medicines, we always follow the guidelines established by the American Society of Bariatric Physicians.