Diet drug duke-out

When you're a pharmaceutical company hoping to turn a profit on a controversial product, your work never stops, it would appear. Although, I suppose that's true of any pharmaceutical company nowadays... GlaxoSmithKline, marketers of the over-the-counter weight-loss drug alli, which we linkurl:profiled;http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/consumers_face_a_bewildering_a.html in last month's issue, is asking the FDA to force weight-loss supplement sellers to conduct clinical trials

Written byAlison McCook
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share
When you're a pharmaceutical company hoping to turn a profit on a controversial product, your work never stops, it would appear. Although, I suppose that's true of any pharmaceutical company nowadays... GlaxoSmithKline, marketers of the over-the-counter weight-loss drug alli, which we linkurl:profiled;http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/consumers_face_a_bewildering_a.html in last month's issue, is asking the FDA to force weight-loss supplement sellers to conduct clinical trials on their products. With fewer supplements on the market, GSK would face significantly less competition for its product, which the company hopes to turn into a blockbuster. Alli is the only linkurl:weight-loss;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/54033/ pharmaceutical available without a prescription. It's a lower-dose of Xenical, a prescription-only drug sold by Roche. It works by blocking the absorption of fat in the intestine. GSK licensed alli from Roche, then moved it into over-the-counter status. Americans currently spend approximately $2 billion on nonprescription dietary supplements aimed at weight loss. GSK filed its petition with the American Dietetic Association and two other health groups that receive financial support from the pharmaceutical company, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger. The petition argues that consumers will think of supplements that help with weight loss as drugs that treat and prevent unhealthy conditions, and the products should therefore be treated like drugs.
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies