Qnexa: Vivus Obesity Drug Not FDA Approved – On Thursday it was announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has rejected an obesity drug brought to their attention by Vivus Inc. The drug, Qnexa, is not the first obesity drug to be rejected this week, as the drug Lorcaserin was also rejected. According to Vivus Inc. the US Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to them saying that they could not approve the Qnexa drug in its current form. According to reports, the drug is made up of two different drugs which were banned in the nineteen nineties because they caused heart problems in some users.
Of course, this is not a surprising result after the drug was recommended to not be approved back in July of this year because of some problems that were said to be associated with it. Some reports claim that the drug can cause problems from heart conditions to psychiatric problems.
However, despite the knock back, the company has said that they will continue to work on it and try again. Here is what the chief executive had to say on the matter: “We remain confident in the efficacy of Qnexa and look forward to continue working with the FDA towards the approval for the treatment of obesity.”
Reportedly, the company plans to respond to the Food and Drug Administration at some point during September. It is not clear what will happen up until then, but it will be revealed when more information develops.