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Article: 1st over-counter diet pill approved Use requires other weight-loss steps
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- February 8, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration yesterday approved
the first diet pill for sale without a prescription in a marketplace
dominated by unregulated over-the-counter supplements that promise
weight loss.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare expects to begin selling the
drug, known as Alli, as early as this summer for about 60 cents per
dose. A higher-dose prescription version has been available in the
United States since 1999.
Alli can result in modest weight loss if used in conjunction with
exercise and a low-fat, reduced-calorie diet. The FDA said that in
GlaxoSmithKline studies, about 28 percent of those using the drug
shed 5 to 10 percent of their body weight. But Dr. Charles ...