Weight-loss drug Belviq recalled

In February, the manufacturer of the weight-loss medication lorcaserin (Belviq, Belviq XR) voluntarily withdrew the drug from the US market at the request of the FDA. This was a result of emerging data showing that people who had taken the drug as part of a large clinical trial had an increased occurrence of cancer five years later. What were the findings about Belviq, and why did this information come to light now? Lorcaserin was approved by the FDA in 2012. As part of the approval process, the FDA reviewed a series of clinical trials that looked at its effects on weight and its safety profile, compared to a placebo. Based on these studies, the drug was approved, but a larger study to assess its cardiovascular safety was mandated by the FDA. In that subsequent study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 12,000 people with overweight or obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) or risk factors for CVD took either lorcaserin or a placebo. During the three-year follow-up, as published in 2018, those who took lorcaserin had more weight loss and comparable rates of cardiovascular events compared to those who took a placebo. So from a cardiovascular safety perspective, the study was reassuring. But the study subjects continued to be followed, and what recently came to light is that at five years, the group that took the drug has had a slight increase in the occurrence of cancers compared to those who took a placebo (7.7% of lorcaserin subjects developed cancer, compare...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Diet and Weight Loss Drugs and Supplements Source Type: blogs