(CBS) After many years of research, scientists are making progress with an entirely new kind of obesity pill that's already on the market overseas.

Dr. Lou Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center in New York City and clinical associate professor of medicine at Weill-Cornell University Medical College, has taken part in testing these drugs. He sat down with The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen to talk about the latest developments.

First of all, what is this "obesity pill" and where is it sold?

Rimonabant is the chemical name for Acomplia, and it probably will have a different brand name in the U.S. Dr. Aronne said it's the first of a whole new category of medications based on medical understanding of the weight controlling mechanisms in the human body. It has been approved for use in Europe, Mexico, Argentina and other places throughout the world.

The drug works with the system that has been shown to be overactive in people who are overweight and obese.

"We are now beginning to see," said Dr. Aronne, "there are certain systems that become over-activated that may be driving the obesity epidemic. By toning these systems down, you can reduce food intake, you can stop the storage of fat, reduce the production of fat and improve the body's sensitivity to blood sugar."

Chen remarked that it sounds like rimonabant does everything, as if you take a pill every day and then it eats away fat in your system and suppresses your appetite. Said Dr. Aronne: "What it does is tone down a system that's overactive, so it's actually working with the normal controlling mechanisms of the body that, we now are understanding, get out of control in people who are overweight and obese, and it's bringing them under control."

He continued: "This is what we are doing when we are treating high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol. We are taking systems that go out of control and we're bring them back into control."

The downside of the drug?

"In the research studies that have been done so far, the most common side effects were things like nausea, dizziness, anxiety and a depressed mood," replied the doctor. "These were relatively uncommon compared to other treatments we have had in the past."
Once a patient stops taking the drug, the symptoms go away.

So how soon might the drug become available in the U.S.?

"All the studies for registration have been performed," said Dr. Aronne. "It's just a matter of getting the approval, and nobody knows when that might be."

And even though he was one of the researchers who was involved in the researching of rimonabant, Dr. Aronne does not know what concerns, if any, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration might have about the drug.

"Nobody knows what the FDA is looking at," he explained. "That's all secret."

Tonight on The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric, there will be a report about Acomplia and how it's being used in Europe.

©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Back To Top