Lorcaserin is a new weight loss medication, developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals, which has been licenced by the FDA and is under consideration by the European Medicines Agency.
The brand name of Lorcaserin will be Belviq in the United States and Lorqess in Europe.
Lorqess works on the serotonin receptors in the brain and causes the patient to have a much smaller appetite.
Lorqess has completed its phase three trials. The results of these trials were not as promising as those for Qsiva, another weight loss medication that is being developed, but Lorqess did do well in terms of its safety profile
Two phase-three trails clinic trials showed that:
Clinical trials operate not just to see if a new medication does what it claims to do, but also to ensure that you, the patient, can take it safely.
Like any prescription medication, Lorqess was found to have some side effects but generally the drug was well tolerated by the people taking it.
The most common side effects were headaches, infections of the upper respiratory tract and nasuea
The drug was found not to cause any feelings of anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts and was shown not to affect the cardiovascular system in any adverse way.
As well as being an effective weight loss medication, Lorcaserin was shown to have other health benefits including:
Lorcaserin received FDA approval in the USA on 27 June 2012. It has not yet been approved in the UK.