Before Belviq's approval, only one anti-obesity medicine had been approved for long-term use — Roche's Xenical, which reached the market in 1999 and is rarely used because of modest weight loss and unpleasant effects on the digestive system.
Xenical from Roche is the only drug approved for long-term use.
Xenical is now the only drug approved for long-term use in managing weight.
Rozerem was approved for long-term treatment of adults with insomnia that involves difficulty falling asleep, Takeda said.
The withdrawal leaves Roche's Xenical as the only prescription weight-loss drug approved for long-term use.
The weight-loss drugs now approved for long-term use, Meridia from Abbott Laboratories and Xenical from Roche, both produce dangerous or unpleasant side effects.
Only one drug, Roche's Xenical, is currently approved for long-term use in treating obesity, and it is unpopular because of embarrassing digestive side effects.
Before that, no new prescription weight-loss drugs had been approved in 13 years, and the one drug approved for long-term use, Roche's Xenical, was rarely prescribed.
The weight loss achieved with Acomplia is comparable to that with the two other diet drugs currently approved for long-term use in the United States -- Meridia by Abbott and Xenical by Roche.
The following month, Mr. Grace got a job at Access-a-Ride, paying about $1,600 a month after taxes, and Ms. Grace was approved for long-term disability, about $1,700 a month.
The two existing drugs approved for long-term use -- Meridia from Abbott Laboratories and Xenical from Roche -- have modest sales, in part because of side effects and limited efficacy.
