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FDA Approves Weight-Loss Pill

First of its kind to be approved in 13 years.

Arena Pharmaceutical struck gold on Tuesday when the Food and Drug Administration approved its anti-obesity pill Belviq, the first new prescription drug for weight loss to hit the pharmaceutical market in over a decade. The FDA’s approval of the drug comes at a time when more and more doctors are seeking weight-loss treatments to curb America’s surging obesity epidemic. While clinical studies showed that the drug resulted in only modest weight loss, it passed the FDA’s safety test, after being turned down in 2010 amid concerns that animals developed tumors from the drug. The drug has been approved for clinically obese adults who suffer from at least one other weight-related illness, such as high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes.