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The flacks at GlaxoSmithKline got an assist from NBC, which assigned in-house physician Nancy Snyderman to file an In Depth feature on its new diet pill Alli. Previously available by prescription only as Xenical, Alli goes on sale over-the-counter in a weaker dose. The pharmaceutical firm hired consultant Caroline Apovian to package the pills with a weight loss book The Alli Diet Plan. Snyderman quoted Apovian: "I feel that I have an obligation to help a company that is truly trying to help the people of the United States lose some weight and keep it off."
That "some weight," Snyderman warned, may be "just a few more pounds;" Alli's side effects include "loose stools and gassy discharge;" and the pills cost $50 each month.
Rimonabant is a stronger weight-loss pill designed only for the chronically obese that the FDA is about to consider for approval. CBS' in-house physician Jon LaPook explained that it works by "blocking the receptors in your brain that make you hungry." Unfortunately it can change the brain in other ways too, producing "psychiatric side effects such as depression, anxiety and even suicidal ideation."
