Alli which is produced by GlaxoSmithKline will be available to consumers in America next week following a 150 million dollar advertising campaign to promote the non-prescription drug.
Alli will be the only non-prescription drug marketed as a weight loss remedy that has the approval of the Food and Drug Administration.
The drug works by reducing the amount of fat that is absorbed by the body; the undigested fat is eliminated in bowel movements, which can cause side effects such as gas and oily discharge.
Alli is a half-dose version of the Roche prescription drug Xenical which also works by reducing the amount of fat the body absorbs from food.
It will cost between $55 and $60 for a month's supply, just over 60 cents per tablet, based on a regimen of three pills a day.
Alli is good news for GSK who are still recovering from the safety scare over it's diabetes drug Avandia.
GSK hopes the product will be available in Europe, under a different name, in 2008 and are also planning to submit Alli for regulatory approval in Canada, Latin America, China, Australia and New Zealand before the end of 2007.
Glaxo is stressing in their advertisements that Alli is no "magic bullet" and requires commitment to a low-fat diet.
It will compete with multiple OTC supplements that claim weight-loss benefits but have not been cleared by the FDA.
The researchers experimentally examined the relationship between testosterone, carotenoids and immune state in 35 male and female zebra finches. They surprisingly found that when they administered testosterone implants to zebra finches that it acted as a stimulant to the immune system. They went on to show that carotenoids acquired from food and circulating through the blood were changing in ways that were linked to testosterone levels. Birds who were given additional testosterone depleted their carotenoid levels and became healthier, as if they were combating testosterone directly with antioxidants.
"These findings show that there are nutrient specific mechanisms by which animals can avoid the immune costs of testosterone elevation and still keep their attractive and bright colors," McGraw said. Most previous studies of this sort have focused on physiological or even genetic links between testosterone and health. He adds that it is worth considering the implications for human nutrition and health.
"If testosterone is having immunosuppressive effects in human men, perhaps they too could benefit from increased carotenoid intake, say, by eating more corn," he said.
"This study certainly opens the door for future work on nutritional/antioxidant therapy for the hormonally immunocompromised," McGraw added. "The interface between diet and health in animals is a fascinating one. But we need a much better understanding of their interactions, as with testosterone, at the molecular level."
asu/