"The diet drug Qnexa helps obese people with weightrelated medical conditions to lose more weight than those who take a dummy pill and could allow some to scale back on medications for diabetes high blood pressure or cholesterol according to a new study http published online in the Lancet http Only this study is not so new  and its findings may be less weighty than might be concluded with its publication in this respected medical journal. Qnexa  an investigational weightloss drug that combines the anticonvulsant topiramate http with the shortterm diet drug phentermine httpvsearch.nlm.nih.govvivisimocgibinquerymetavAprojectmedlineplusqueryphenterminexy  was denied FDA approval httparticles.latimes.comoctnewslahebqnexa last October. At that time the FDA asked Vivus the company sponsoring Qnexas application for market approval to conduct further research on the drugs safety. This newly published article details one of two clinical trials that were evaluated by the FDA before the agency decided to deny approval for Qnexa in October . When the FDAs staff scientists combined the results of this study with a second study both funded by Vivus of Mountain View Calif http  they concluded that the weightloss difference between those taking Qnexa and those taking a placebo was of nominal statistical significance http In both the Lancet article and the accompanying press release the secondary effects of subjects weight loss with Qnexa were highly touted The findings published Online First in the Lancet ... suggest that this promising new treatment has additional metabolic benefits the press release describing the study says. The authors write Most importantly weight loss achieved with phentermine and topiramate was sustained during  weeks with improvements in blood pressure lipids glycaemia and inflammatory markers.   In its assessment of those improvements in a June  memorandum last year the FDAs scientists were not quite as breathless The groups treated with Qnexa they wrote had the expected improvements in blood pressure lipids and glycemia. The Lancet study does have some additional data not reviewed by the FDA  and not entirely typical for such an article comparisons between Qnexas effectiveness for weight loss and that of two other drugs vying for the potentially vast U.S. market httparticles.latimes.comdecnewslahebdietdrug for weightloss drugs. These other weightlossdrug candidates commercially known as Lorcaserin and Contrave havent won FDA approval either but both remain under consideration. In a box labeled research in context the authors offer a comparison that is certainly not apples to apples but which may give Qnexa some competitive edge In studies performed by other researchers using different populations of subjects under different circumstances the authors of the Lancet study note Qnexa promoted greater weightloss than Contrave Lorcaserin or Orlistat http a fatblocking drug long on the market. The study described in the Lancet was funded by Vivus. Three of its seven authors are employees of Vivus a fourth was an employee of the contract research organization that coordinated the study for Vivus. The lead author has served as a consultant to Vivus and the second author acknowledged receiving donations honoraria consulting fees or grants from Vivus as well as several other pharmaceutical firms with interests in weightloss drugs. In denying Vivus approval to market Qnexa in October the FDA asked the company to extend the trial described in the Lancet article and to submit further findings on Qnexas effect on subjects heart function as well as on its safety for use in women who might become pregnant."