Trimming the fat from obesity research
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
It has become an all-too-common plot line – risks of side-effects trump the promise of drug benefits in US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel deliberations. Safety rides off into the sunset triumphant, leaving behind efficacy, a flimsy rival whose true colours eventually were revealed to be weak in comparison to existing therapies. The epilogue, of course, is that the pharmaceutical industry curses its fate, being hamstrung with higher regulatory hurdles, costs and scrutiny.