Novo's Liraglutide Recommended for FDA Approval to Treat Obesity

An FDA advisory committee recommended Thursday that a diabetes drug, liraglutide (Saxenda), be approved for the treatment of obesity.

The Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 14-1 that the benefits of injectable liraglutide, a human GLP-1 analog, outweighed the risks of using the drug.

"This drug seems to have fairly strong evidence of efficacy," said panel member Charles Stanley, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. "One of the secondary benefits is risk reduction for diabetes and at least delaying the onset of diabetes, which is very important in these patients."

He added that the company's Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) "will be important for monitoring concerns regarding pancreatitis and increased risk of [certain] cancers."

Link to the report on medpage TODAY: http://bit.ly/1oC0Fl0