Top obesity drug sibutramine being withdrawn

A leading obesity drug is being withdrawn from use in the UK amid fears it increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The drug works by altering chemical messages to the brain which control feelings about food.

While it is a common obesity drug, the most popular, orlistat, a pill which prevents fat absorption, is much more widely used and is taken by hundreds of thousands of people each year.

The regulator acted after a review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended suspending its licence in Europe.

This decision still has to be formally ratified by the European Commission.

Speaking after the EMA’s decision, Eugene Sun, from Abbott which makes sibutramine, said: “We believe there are many patients who benefit from sibutramine and respectfully disagree with the… recommendation to suspend the medicine.

“However, we will act promptly to comply with the committee’s recommendation.” Read more at news.bbc.co.uk