The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has rejected Qnexa, the third weight loss drug in as many weeks that did not meet the requirements of the FDA.
It has been requested by the FDA that Vivus (Qnexa’s manufacturers) report further on the potential of the drug to cause birth defects and cardiovascular problems and Vivus said that they were confident that they would have this information within 6 weeks. If this goes well for Vivus, Qnexa could be approved next year.
In clinical trials Qnexa was very successful, reporting an average 10.6% loss of their original weight after the first year, contrasting nicely with a weight loss of only 1.7% among those who were taking the placebo.
Orexigen Therapeutics is still set to present their Contrave weight loss to the FDA in December.