Qsymia, Belviq: New Weight Loss Drugs Compared

What You Need to Know About New Weight Loss Drugs Belviq and Qsymia

July 18, 2012 -- Two new prescription weight loss drugs, Belviq and Qsymia, now have the FDA's blessing. Which, if either, is for you?

Both drugs help some people lose weight. Neither drug is for everyone. Yet the two drugs are quite different.

Here's WebMD's FAQ comparing Qsymia to Belviq.

Vivus Pharmaceuticals says you should pronounce Qsymia this way: kyoo-sim-EE-uh. (The company's preferred name was Qnexa, but that was nixed by FDA as sounding too much like other drugs.)

Arena Pharmaceuticals says you should pronounce Belviq this way: BEL-VEEK.

Vivus says Qsymia should be available "in the fourth quarter of 2012," which begins in September. But don't look for it in your local pharmacy. Because women taking Qsymia must use birth control (see below) the drug will be sold only through "certified pharmacies." These are likely to be major online pharmacies.

Because Belviq has a potential for abuse (see below), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration must rule on how to schedule the drug. That process probably began no later than last May. As this usually takes four to six months, Belviq should become available by early 2013. A quicker DEA ruling may speed the drug's arrival.

Until relatively recently, most medical researchers considered weight loss drugs to be vanity products. The benefit -- looking better -- was not considered worth very large risks. And early weight loss drugs such as fen-phen carried very large risks, indeed.

Researchers now realize that obesity itself is a disease. Obesity greatly increases all kinds of other serious medical risks, from diabetes to heart disease to depression.

Follow this link:
Qsymia, Belviq: New Weight Loss Drugs Compared