Medical Questions » Medicines Questions » Question No. 627
| Question: | While watching a health segment on television, I saw a report on a new drug in America for the treatment of obesity. I was wondering if there is any chance that this will be available in Australia soon? |
| Answer: | From the time a new drug is announced for the treatment of any condition, there is usually a five to ten-year period during which it is extensively tested before being released to the general medical community. Many new drugs that are announced with great fanfare in the press never make it to the market because somewhere along the way it fails the stringent criteria that the licensing bodies have put in place to prevent any serious consequences or side effects of the drug.
Australia is often one of the last places in the world for any new medication to come on the market, as the criteria in place in Australia are particularly strict, and as we have a small population by world standards, many pharmaceutical companies are not interested in fulfilling these requirements until the new medication is established and profitable in larger markets.
Some new medications that are for critical conditions such as cancer and AIDS may be fast-tracked through the system, but an anti-obesity drug certainly does not fit into that category.
Rather than wait for something that may be of dubious benefit, I would suggest that you use the conventional (and cheaper) ways to lose weight—eat less and exercise more.
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