FDA Narrowly Rejects New Diet Drug Qnexa

Citing concerns about lack of data on the cardiovascular system, the new diet drug Qnexa was voted down by the FDA. Qnexa would have been the first diet drug approved by the FDA in over a decade.

Qnexa contains phentermine, which is one of the two drugs in the diet drug Fen-Phen that was pulled from the shelves in 1997 because of its link to heart damage and topiramate which has been linked to attention and memory problems, depression, suicidal thoughts and has caused birth defects in lab animals. The FDA didn’t question the effectiveness of this drug for use in weight loss but expressed concerns about increased heart rate, possible birth defects if a mother becomes pregnant while taking it and psychiatric problems such as an increased chance of suicide. Approximately 40% of those that there were taking Qnexa, dropped out of the study for reasons such as headaches, constipation and tingling in their hands and feet.

If more safety studies can be done, Qnexa may be approved in the future. The diet pills Lorcaserin and Contrave will go before the FDA for approval later this year.