Treatment
Table 5. Pharmacotherapy for Obesity in the United States
(continued)
Mechanism of
Action
Drug
Dose
Mean Weight Loss
with Placebo // with Drug
Duration of Clinical Studies
Norepinephrine-
releasing agent
Diethylpropion
b
• Tenuate (75 mg )
75 mg qd
6.6 lb (3.0 kg )
a
6–52 wks
Pancreatic and
gastric lipase
inhibitor
Orlistat prescription
• 120 mg tid
-2.6% placebo // -6.1%
c
6.5–7.5 lb
a
(2.9–3.4%)
1 year
Pancreatic and
gastric lipase
inhibitor
Orlistat Over-the-counter
• 60 mg tid
-4.8% placebo // -3.1%
d
15.4 lbs (7 kg )
a, e
16 weeks
Reuptake inhibitor
of dopamine and
norepinephrine
(B) and opioid
antagonist (N)
Naltrexone/bupropion (NB)
• 32 mg N/360 mg B
2 tablets qid (high dose)
-1.3% placebo // -5.4% NB
(4.8%)
a
1 year
a
Mean weight loss in excess of placebo as lb or % initial body weight.
b
Haddock CK, Poston WS, Dill DL, Foreyt JP, Ericson M. Int J Obes Relat Metab Dis 2002;26:262–273.
c
Assuming average patient in the Orlistat and placebo groups weighed 100 kg at baseline.
d
Anderson JW. Ann Pharmaco. 2006;40(10):1717–23.
e
Hauptman J. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9(2):160–7.
Brand names: Liraglutide (Saxenda), Lorcaserin (Belviq), Naltrexone/bupropion (NB) (Contrave), Orlistat Over-the-counter
