The United States has a weight problem. American adults are more likely to be overweight or obese than they are to be at a normal weight. About a third of American youngsters are either overweight or obese. The excess poundage is costly. U.S. health care officials put the cost of obesity at about $350 billion annually. It’s hardly a surprise, then, that pharmaceutical companies are working feverishly to bring a prescription diet pill to the market.
The prospect of billions in profit for the first company to reach the market with a safe and effective diet pill is a powerful incentive. Developing such a pill, however, has proved difficult. The latest in a long line of possible diet drugs hit a major roadblock on Tuesday. The Food and Drug Administration refused to approve Contrave without a long-term study to show that the drug does not increase the risk of cardiac problems. The FDA’s decision is a sensible one.
It is better to require a developer of a drug to prove the formulation’s safety and efficacy before it is put on the market than to have to recall the drug after its use leads to dangerous or deadly reactions in individuals who take it. Contrave’s manufacturer, of course, says it has taken sufficient precautions and conducted enough tests, but the company view should not prevail. Public safety should always be the FDA’s primary concern.
Tuesday’s ruling is not the first of its type. Last year, the FDA refused to approve two prescription diet drugs for use. It also forced Abbott Laboratories to remove Meridia, a widely promoted diet pill, from the marketplace because of concerns about an increased risk of heart attack or stroke among users. The agency has similar concerns about Contrave. The additional tests should provide a more definitive answer about risks that might be associated with the new drug.
Residents of the tri-state area have a vested interest in the successful development of a prescription diet pill. To put it bluntly, people in this part of the country are among the fattest in the nation. In Tennessee, nearly 70 percent of adults are either overweight or obese. In Georgia, about 65 percent are in the same category. Given those numbers, it’s hardly a coincidence that residents of the region have high rates of heart attack, stroke and diabetes. All are associated with obesity.