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While several drugs are available for short-term weight loss, there is only one FDA-approved prescription drug for long-term weight loss: Xenical from Roche, which is seldom prescribed due to unpleasant digestive side effects and modest weight loss. Experts say the challenge of weight loss drug development lies in safely turning off one of the body's fundamental directives: to eat enough food to maintain its current weight. The decadeslong search for an effective diet drug is littered with failures, most notably the fen-phen combination, which was linked to heart damage in 1997. The cocktail of phentermine and fenfluramine was a popular weight loss combination prescribed by doctors, though it was never approved by FDA. Other safety failures for diet pills have continued to pile up in recent years. Four years ago Sanofi-Aventis SA discontinued studies of its highly anticipated pill Acomplia due to psychiatric side effects, including depression and suicidal thoughts. In 2010, Abbott Laboratories withdrew its drug Meridia after a study showed it increased heart attack and stroke. Qnexa is generally regarded as the most promising of three experimental obesity drugs to be considered because it was the most effective at helping lose weight. The competing drug candidates are Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s lorcaserin, and Orexigen Therapeutics Inc.'s Contrave.
[Associated
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