GlaxoSmithKline: Low dose orlistat ‘has significant weight benefits’

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has said that orlistat, the anti-obesity drug promoted as Xenical in conjunction with Roche, has “significant” weight loss benefits in low-dosage forms, in addition to several other health benefits.

Britain’s largest pharmaceutical company published a study comparing obese people who took orlistat while adhering to a low-calorie diet with patients who stuck to the diet alone.

Researchers discovered that the group taking orlistat in 60mg form achieved greater weight loss reductions in body mass index scores as well as lower waist-hip ratios. GSK claims that “significantly more” orlistat users demonstrated a loss of five per cent or more of their baseline weight in comparison to the dieting-alone group.

In addition, many in the group using the drug showed lower blood pressure, reductions in LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels.

Vidhu Bansal, director of medical affairs at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare and lead study investigator, remarked: “These findings provide further support that a lower dose of orlistat can not only effectively help individuals lose weight, but reduce risk factors associated with co-morbid diseases and improve health overall.”

Orlistat, which is marketed in the UK by Roche, works by inhibiting the absorption of dietary fat. It was approved by NICE in March 2001, although the drug is currently the subject of a guidance review.

The regulatory body said that orlistat is just one approach to tackling obesity and that it should only be prescribed in patients who have lost at least 2.5 kilograms in weight before the first dose is administered.

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