Xenical Approved In Canada For Treatment Of Obesity

Canada has approved Roche Canada's Xenical (Orlisat), the only prescription anti-obesity medication that blocks the absorption of dietary fat, one of the commonly accepted causes of obesity.

Xenical, unlike other anti-obesity medications that work in the brain or nervous system to suppress appetite, is a safe non-systemically acting medication that works specifically in the digestive tract to prevent the absorption of approximately 30 per cent of dietary fat. The non-digested fat is excreted by the body.

The fat-blocking action of Xenical not only helps patients decrease weight and keep it off, it has also been shown to improve obesity-related conditions including high cholesterol, diabetes (insulin and blood sugar) and high blood pressure.

It is on pharmacy shelves across Canada as of today.

Xenical is indicated for weight loss and weight maintenance when used in conjunction with a modest calorie-reduced diet. It will be prescribed to overweight and obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of greater than or equal to 30 or greater than or equal to 27 in the presence of other risk factors. Current research indicates that 30 per cent of the Canadian adult population is obese (BMI greater than or equal to 27).

Xenical is the most comprehensively studied anti-obesity medication ever, with more than 7,000 patients world-wide having participated in clinical studies. Currently, Xenical is available in 19 countries around the world. There are currently two studies ongoing in Canada. It also has the only published reports of continuous double-blind treatment for two years in clinical studies. These studies have proven weight loss and, more importantly, maintenance of lost weight for up to two years, as well as the efficacy of Xenical in patients with type II diabetes. Obesity is known to be a significant cause of type II diabetes and the incidence of this disease rises with an increasing severity of obesity and weight gain.

Pooled data from clinical trials show that three times as many patients taking Xenical in combination with a mild calorie-reduced diet lost more than 10 per cent of their initial body weight versus diet alone. Two times as many patients lost more than five per cent of their initial body weight compared to diet alone. Weight loss is seen within two weeks of initiating therapy.

In the most recently published study on Xenical in the Journal of the American Medical Association, patients lost on average 19.5 pounds (8.76 kilos) in the first year versus 12.8 pounds (5.81 kilos) on placebo. In the second year, when calorie intake was increased and the goal was to maintain lost weight, those patients on placebo regained 63 per cent of their lost weight, versus only a 35 per cent regain for those on Xenical. The authors noted, however, that 34 per cent of patients on Xenical for the full two years maintained a weight loss of more than 10 per cent of initial body weight compared with only 17.5 per cent who received placebo for the full two years.

Patients treated with Xenical have shown measurable improvements in total and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) or bad cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, concentrations of fasting glucose (blood sugar) and insulin.

In one study 43.2 per cent of Xenical-treated patients with type II diabetes reduced the amount of diabetes medication they required versus only 28.9 per cent in the non-treatment group and 11.7 per cent of the Xenical-treated group completely discontinued their use of diabetes medication.