While Sanofi’s diet pill Rimonabant (Acomplia / Zimulti) remains stalled at the FDA, a potential competitor currently in phase III trials, Merck’s MK-0364, now has an official generic name: Taranabant.Taranabant is Merck’s cannabinoid-1 (CB-1) receptor inverse agonist, and from reports we periodically receive from participants in the phase III trial of this diet pill, taranabant is as effective for weight loss ,buy not as well as rimonabant and it’s got more  side effects.

An experimental weight loss drug in the same class as the pill Acomplia helped people lose weight in a 12-week, phase II study, but side effects were common and intense at higher doses.

Like Rimonabant, which is approved for sale in Europe but not in the U.S., the Merck & Co. drug taranabant targets receptors in the brain linked to appetite,the in other sense.

 Trials

The double-blind study included 533 obese patiens randomly assigned to treatment with either placebo or 0.5 milligrams, 2 milligrams, 4 milligrams, or 6 milligrams of taranabant.

All the participants received counseling on diet and exercise throughout the trial.At the end of 12 weeks, the placebo-treated people had lost the least weight and those treated with the highest dose of taranabant had lost the most.

Patients treated with 0.5 milligrams of the drug lost an average of 1.5 pounds, compared with 2.5 pounds among people treated with 2 milligrams of the drug and almost 5 pounds among those treated with 6 milligrams.A total of 27% of patients who took 0.5 milligrams of taranabant lost 4% or more of their body weight, compared with 61% in the 6-milligram group.

Compared with Rimonabant  the results are bad,because people on rimonabant lost almost 20% of their body weightBut people taking the higher dosages of the drug also had higher rates of side effects, including anxiety, nausea, and vomiting.

The new diet drug, if approved, won’t be for everyone. “This is not going to be a class of drugs that people take because they want to look good on vacation” and lose 10 pounds or so.

Results are not so encouraging for Taranabant,but FDA still waits for them because they prefer to aprove Taranabant,an american drug, and not Rimonabant ,even if it’s obvious that Acomplia Rimonabant results are much better that Taranabant.

Buy Rimonabant , is much better!!!