Sibutramine--another flawed diet pill.

On September 15, 2010, an advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will meet to determine the fate of sibutramine, an appetite-suppressant drug that carries the brand name Meridia. This reassessment of sibutramine by the FDA is based on new information derived from the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcomes (SCOUT) trial, the results of which are published in this issue of the Journal.1 The FDA advisory committee will be asked to recommend whether the drug should be subject to new regulatory action. Sibutramine, an agent that blocks the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine by presynaptic nerve terminals and thereby . . .