Taranabant by Merck

There is still no official trademarked name for which Merck will most certainly obtain. It is still in the trial stages of development and testing but apparently Merck will apply to the FDA sometime 2008. If Taranabant makes it to the market that you will definately hear about it in the media.

Merck's pill is similar to rimonabant developed by Sanofi- Aventis SA, which failed to win backing from a U.S. regulatory panel last year because of increased suicide risk, a side effect not seen at the lower doses of Merck's drug. The company said it stopped testing the higher dose and has extended studies of taranabant to monitor psychological side effects. 

Both the Merck and Sanofi drugs block a receptor in the brain and digestive system that researchers believe also makes marijuana smokers hungry. By turning off the mechanism, scientists believe they can suppress appetite.

Earlier in 2007, Rimonabant was voted against being recommended for the US. Although there are many other countries using it now. Basically  Taranabant is a cannabinoid-1 (CB-1) receptor inverse agonist. trial studies have shown so far that the side effects of this medication are minimal. 

Taranabant is structurally distinct, it does work on the same receptor, but taranabant is very selective,'' said John Amatruda, Merck's vice president of clinical research for diabetes and obesity. ``I think the general medical community is becoming more and more aware that weight loss is really important in preventing chronic illness.''
 

 

UPDATE
March 31 2008 - Taranabant helped some people lose three times more weight than diet and exercise and had side effects that include irritability and depressed mood, a study showed.
 

People taking taranabant for a year on average lost 9 pounds more than those on placebo, according to data presented today at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago. Both groups followed the same diet and exercise program.  

 

About 57 percent of patients in the study lost 5 percent of their body weight, compared with 27 percent of those who only dieted and exercised, the study showed. Those results suggest the treatment is approvable because it meets a FDA requirement for weight loss effectiveness, Merck said. 
 

Psychiatric Effects

Total reports of psychiatric side effects were 28.3 percent for people taking taranabant at the lowest dose of 2 milligrams, compared with 20.4 percent on placebo. Digestive problems including nausea and diarrhea also were more common, affecting 41.8 percent of taranabant users compared with 28.5 percent on placebo.