The ‘holy grail’ of slimming pills

The use of slimming pills has been limited by concerns about their safety. Several products have been withdrawn from sale after being found to damage the heart.

Now a large-scale trial of the slimming pill lorcaserin has shown it to be both safe and effective.

Lorcaserin is an appetite suppressant that works by stimulating brain chemicals to induce a feeling of fullness.

It’s been available in the US (where it’s called Belviq) since 2012, but is currently unlicensed in Europe.

“There’s a history of these drugs having serious complications,” says Dr Erin Bohula May of Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard University, US, who led the new research into lorcaserin.

For the study (sponsored by the drug’s maker Eisai), 12,000 obese or overweight adults were given either lorcaserin or a placebo, and were followed up for up to 40 months, while also being encouraged to exercise more and make dietary changes.

Those on lorcaserin managed to lose an average of 4.2kg, compared with 1.4kg in the placebo group, and didn’t appear to be at any greater risk of cardiovascular “events” such as heart attack or stroke.

Tam Fry, of British charity the National Obesity Forum, said any drug that could suppress appetite without creating harmful side effects was the “holy grail” of obesity medication.