Thumbs Down on Rimonabant

Following up on the wacky tobaccy post, the FDA advisory panel voted 14-0 against recommendation of rimonabant to move forward as a treatment for obesity, citing the need for further safety studies. As noted, the primary concerns are psychiatric/neurological issues.

I really can't resist a "No shit, Sherlock!" as pertains to the psychiatric and neurological issues. The endocannabinoid system is under scrutiny for psychiatric indications, i.e., new antidepressants and anxiolytics. It's not exactly unexpected that such adverse effects might arise given the different responses among patient populations to other neuro-GPCR agonists and antagonists. Just as there are allelic variations in the 5HT receptors, I'd expect one would find the same among the CB-1 receptors.

So, there will be no quick pharma-fixes for the godly fast food f(r)iends of Jim's post.

Here's the report from the NYTF: F.D.A. Panel Rejects Drug for Obesity

Some noteworthy pharmabloggery related to rimonabant:

From Pharmalot

FDA Panel Rejects Acomplia Fat Pill

From Derek Lowe of In the Pipeline:
Rimonabant, Out In the Light

And finally from PharmaGossip:
Now that's what I call a black box warning!