US diet pill gets green signal
US federal regulator approves new pill, Belviq, with condition it will continue to look for possible side effects.
Published On 29 Jun 2012
For the first time in 13 years the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a pill to help people lose weight.
The approval from the US federal regulator comes almost two years after it first rejected the pill due to safety concerns.
Those concerns have now been addressed in the new diet pill – called Belviq – but the FDA has ordered the manufacturer to continue studies to look for possible dangerous side effects.
Belviq is not expected to be available in the US until next year.
Al Jazeera’s Tarek Bazley reports.
Source: Al Jazeera