Alli the new Weight Loss Orlistat Marketing Drug

With the FDA banning last week the Rimonabant Obesity Drug, all eyes (and mouths) are now focused on the new drug Alli, that coincidentally was launched last week.

The main component of Alli, is Orlistat, a drug approved by the FDA in 1999 to treat obesity. Orlistat is marketed under the trade name Xenical by Roche. The only difference between Xenical and Alli is that the first comes in 120mg capsules and Alli in 60mg also, Alli does not require a prescription… here is where the fun begins!

So why all the hype about an 8 year old drug? Well, the answer is simple: Marketing! Yes, we are in America, and we will do whatever it takes to sell whatever we want to whoever is American enough to buy it.

Alli is all about marketing and hype, and soon you will see GlaxoSmithKline’s executives (the makers of this drug) showing off their new Bentleys all over the country. (Wait, a Bentley is a car for old fat rich people, since they sure are not fat, let’s change it for a slick Ferrari)

The over-the-counter dose of Alli is just half of the prescription one Xenical. Also, Orlistat as such, has a few side effects that Alli calls “Treatment Effects”. Wow, this is marketing! Have you ever heard a doctor tell you: “This medicine, has NO side effects, it has Treatment Effects!”

Well, who am I to write all of this? I am just a 35 year old former obese Gastric Bypass patient! Ohhh... wait a moment… Dr. Donald Hensrud MD a preventive medicine and nutrition specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., answers some common questions about Alli here, and guess what, I might be considered a doctor myself after reading his post!

Thank God at least GlaxoSmithKline is fair with us and insists that if you decide to take Alli, you have to follow a strict diet and exercise plan… But, wait a minute! They just shoot themselves on their own foot! This solves the problem! There is no need for Alli! As per Dr. Hensrud “Alli could result in an average of 3 pounds lost in a year in addition to the approximately 8 pounds you could expect to lose from diet and exercise alone.” Great! So then, if a monthly supply of Alli will cost you about $60, you will have paid $720 for loosing 3 lbs in a year! This equals to $240 American Dollars a pound! Wow ! At that rate, I will start selling my excess fat to GlaxoSmithKline !!

Comments

[The Blonde Idiot]

Thanks for commenting on my article at Alli - Miracle Weight Loss Drug or Embarassment in a Bottle - your article is a little more technical than my article but it sure does seem that there are a lot of horror stories about Xenical.

[Karen NOYB]

I work for one of the largest Vitamin and Supplement manufacturers in the USA. We will be selling Alli...but with much hesitation. Why sell it at all? Competitor pressure. However, we are holding off the launch until we hear some feedback from consumers. So far the word we are hearing the most is "GAS with OILY discharge". And of course, these people claim to be following a low fat diet.

Truth be told...I give it 6 months before it's sitting next to the Hoodia at the local Walgreens..........collecting dust.

-Karen