At 5: Diet drug warning has serious side effects

UNDATED (CBS) -- A Food and Drug Administration panel is holding a new hearing on the weight loss pill Qxena.

Research has shown the drug is effective at reducing weight, but health advisers denied approval in 2010 because of its potential side effects including birth defects and increased heart risks. But the earlier decision was based on just one year of clinical data.

At today's hearing, the drug maker will show off new safety data from patients who took Qnexa for a second year. 

A Food and Drug administration panel is considering whether to recommend a new diet pill called Qnexa which combines the two drugs. A study found obese patients taking Qnexa lost an average 10 percent of their body mass, but the FDA rejected the drug in 2010, concerned about potential side effects including heart problems and birth defects. At Wednesday's hearings, the makers of Qnexa presented encouraging new findings about the drug's safety.

More than one out of every three adults in the united states is obese but currently there's only one fda approved drug for weight loss.

The FDA has not approved a diet drug since Xenical more than a decade ago.

The FDA panel's recommendation is not binding.  The FDA is expected to make its final decision in April.

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At 5: Diet drug warning has serious side effects