Qsymia, the new weight loss drug from Vivus Pharmaceuticals, goes on sale today. The anti-obesity drug was approved by Food and Drug Administration in July to help obese and at-risk overweight patients tackle their weight issues. Qsymia was approved last July, a few weeks after FDA approved Belviq, another weight loss drug that is expected to be launched in 2013.

British based drug maker GW Pharmaceuticals has carried out a research program in collaboration with University of Reading which says that an unstudied chemical present in Cannabis plant, called CBDV could lead to a more effective treatment of epilepsy. The cannabis based drug company has stated that clinical trials on mice and rice using CBDV could start in the year 2013 after the University of Reading scientists reported that the…

Gilead Sciences’ new HIV drug, Stribild, which contains the company’s four other drugs, has now been approved by the FDA. This once-a-day pill is believed to help support existing treatment platforms for HIV patients. Stribild, previously known as Quad, contains two new compounds, elvitegravir and cobicistat, and two compounds from a previously approved drug, Truvada.

Anti-clotting pill Xarelto cuts the risk of recurrence of severe heart attack in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), says Bayer. The results came after analysing a sub-group of patients in a wider drug trial that was conducted on patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome. It showed that patients who took Xarelto in addition to standard therapy, that includes aspirin and Sanofi’s Plavix, had significantly less risk of cardiovascular death,…

A new drug for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis is under a late-stage clinical trial program. The drug is tested by Janssen Biologics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, under partnership with GlaxoSmithKline. The Ireland-based company said that they have started phase-3 studies of CNTO 136 (sirukumab), which is being investigated for treating moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis in adults and see how effective it is in treating the signs…

The first generic version of Actos medication to treat adults with type 2 diabetes was approved by the FDA today. This move will make treatments more affordable for patients having chronic diabetes. The generic medication uses the same active ingredient ‘pioglitazone’ as Actos, which works by improving controls over blood glucose in adults with type 2 diabetes.

The drug abiraterone manufactured by Janssen for the treatment of prostate cancer has been approved for use in Scotland. This drug can extend lives of men with incurable prostate cancer. Scotland was the only part of the UK where abiraterone was not yet available on the NHS on the grounds of its high cost, approximately £3,000 a month. However the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has now given doctors the green…

Daily Aspirin regimen lowers risk of cancer deaths and slows down the spread of disease, according to a new study carried out by a team at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta. The study followed the health of over 100,000 patients and showed that the overall risk of death by cancer is reduced by 12% to 16% among people who take Aspirin pill daily for up to 11 years whereas…

A revolutionary “spray-on skin” treatment developed by scientists could speed up the recovery time for people with leg ulcers whose wounds are the slowest to heal, suggests research published online in The Lancet. Skin spay, which consists of skin cells (keratinocytes and fibroblasts) suspended in a mixture of blood clotting proteins, when tested on 228 patients with leg ulcer, improved and accelerated wound closure.

Qsymia is not a stand-alone weight loss treatment Qsymia is a prescription medicine that may help some obese adults or some overweight adults who also have weight-related medical problems lose weight and keep the weight off. Experts claim it should be used in combination with diet and exercise to see a positive change. Qsymia can only be used in limited cases Only two groups of adults can use Qsymia: those…