WEIGHT-LOSS pill heightens the risk of suicide among those
taking anti-depressants, a watchdog warned yesterday.
Patients with severe depression should not be prescribed
Acomplia, said the European Medicines Agency.
More than 40,000 Britons have been treated with the pill, also
known as rimonabant, since it was unveiled last June.
It was hailed as a wonder drug after trials showed it could help
dieters lose up to 10 per cent of their body weight - as well as
helping smokers quit cigarettes.
But last month a committee advising the Food and Drug
Administration, which approves drugs in the U.S., said Acomplia
should be banned because of an increased risk of suicide.
The FDA banned it after a study showed that of 120 patients
taking the drug, two had committed suicide and one was considering
it. One man had also tried to strangle his daughter.
The European Medicines Agency said the drug should still be
licensed but conditions placed on prescriptions.
It said any patient who develops depression while on the drug
should stop taking it. A spokesman said: 'The committee concluded
that the benefits of Acomplia continue to outweigh the risks.
'Doctors will be sent a letter to inform them about the updated
prescribing information.' Britain's medicines watchdog, the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said it knew of
318 cases of patients being affected by Acomplia up until the end of
June this year.
Dr David Haslam, a GP and clinical director of the National
Obesity Forum, said he would continue to prescribe the drug.
He said: 'There are definite mood changes that occur but they are
mild and transitory in my experience.'