--- title: Is There Still Hope for the Weight Loss Drug Qnexa? description: Back in July, an FDA advisory panel voted not to recommend obesity drug Qnexa for government approval because of concerns about cardiovascular risks, memory loss... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7144178/is-there-still-hope-for-the-weight-loss-drug-qnexa/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2010-09-21T19:49:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T11:33:22.743Z article:section: Health og:title: Is There Still Hope for the Weight Loss Drug Qnexa? og:description: Back in July, an FDA advisory panel voted not to recommend obesity drug Qnexa for government approval because of concerns about cardiovascular risks, memory loss... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7144178/is-there-still-hope-for-the-weight-loss-drug-qnexa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15b68cdc92ae5fc6/698a955ab21a9ca90451062b/obesitydrugcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 307 og:image:height: 173 og:image:alt: ITALIAN OVERWEIGHT PATIENT LUIGI FADDA AND A NEW ZEALAND PATIENT ENJOY THEIR LUNCH AT THE AIMIN ... og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Is There Still Hope for the Weight Loss Drug Qnexa? twitter:description: Back in July, an FDA advisory panel voted not to recommend obesity drug Qnexa for government approval because of concerns about cardiovascular risks, memory loss... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15b68cdc92ae5fc6/698a955ab21a9ca90451062b/obesitydrugcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Is There Still Hope for the Weight Loss Drug Qnexa? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 21, 2010 7:49 PM UTC  ITALIAN OVERWEIGHT PATIENT LUIGI FADDA AND A NEW ZEALAND PATIENT ENJOY THEIR LUNCH AT THE AIMIN ACUPUNCTURE WEIGHT LOSS HOSPITAL IN TIANJIN. Luigi Fadda (front), an Italian patient, and a New Zealand patient enjoy their lunch at the Aimin Acupuncture Weight Loss Hospital in Tianjin, 120 km (75 miles) southeast of Beijng, August 19, 2003\. The hospital in northern China specialises in weight loss by means of acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, regular exercise and a strictly controlled diet. More than 20 percent of Chinese adults and about 1.7 billion of the planet's six billion people are overweight, according to the International Obesity Task Force. The World Health Organisation has declared obesity a global epidemic. Photo taken August 19\. REUTERS/Andrew Wong PP03080073 ITALIAN OVERWEIGHT PATIENT LUIGI FADDA AND A NEW ZEALAND PATIENT ENJOY THEIR LUNCH AT THE AIMIN ACUPUNCTURE WEIGHT LOSS HOSPITAL IN TIANJIN. Luigi Fadda (front), an Italian patient, and a New Zealand patient enjoy their lunch at the Aimin Acupuncture Weight Loss Hospital in Tianjin, 120 km (75 miles) southeast of Beijng, August 19, 2003\. The hospital in northern China specialises in weight loss by means of acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, regular exercise and a strictly controlled diet. More than 20 percent of Chinese adults and about 1.7 billion of the planet's six billion people are overweight, according to the International Obesity Task Force. The World Health Organisation has declared obesity a global epidemic. Photo taken August 19\. REUTERS/Andrew Wong PP03080073 REUTERS by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 21, 2010 7:49 PM UTC Back in July, an FDA advisory panel voted not to recommend obesity drug Qnexa for government approval because of concerns about cardiovascular risks, memory loss and suicidal thoughts in people taking it, and potential harm to the fetuses of pregnant women. Two months later, the drug’s manufacturer, Vivus, has reason to feel a little smug.moreResults of a two-year trial involving 675 overweight or obese patients show that Qnexa recipients who took a high dose lost an average of 11.4% of their body weight, compared with the 2.5% lost by people taking a placebo. A third group took a more moderate dose of the drug and lost 10.4% of their body weight. This follows medical guidelines that [major weight loss is more effective when it happens slowly](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fast-weight-loss/AN01621). (**More on Time.com:** [Why Americans Are Fat: We Literally See More Food as Less](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/21/why-americans-are-fat-we-literally-see-more-food-as-less/)) [According to the AP](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Ahead-of-the-Bell-Vivus-rises-apf-995941051.html): --- > “” --- As a result, [Vivus stock went up on Tuesday](http://www.thestreet.com/story/10867149/1/vivus-weight-loss-extends-two-years.html), but it remains to be seen whether the new results will sway the FDA in the face of the advisory panel’s vote of no-confidence. A decision is set for October 28. **More on Time.com:** [Experts Split on Safety of Diet Drug Meridia](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/16/experts-split-on-safety-of-diet-drug-meridia/) [New Fat Fighting Machines: Real, FDA Approved](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/15/new-fat-fighting-machines-real-fda-approved/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144178/is-there-still-hope-for-the-weight-loss-drug-qnexa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144178/is-there-still-hope-for-the-weight-loss-drug-qnexa/"},"headline":"Is There Still Hope for the Weight Loss Drug Qnexa?","datePublished":"2010-09-21T19:49:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T11:33:22.743Z","description":"Back in July, an FDA advisory panel voted not to recommend obesity drug Qnexa for government approval because of concerns about cardiovascular risks, memory loss...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7144178/is-there-still-hope-for-the-weight-loss-drug-qnexa/","keywords":["Obesity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15b68cdc92ae5fc6/698a955ab21a9ca90451062b/obesitydrugcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15b68cdc92ae5fc6/698a955ab21a9ca90451062b/obesitydrugcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ITALIAN OVERWEIGHT PATIENT LUIGI FADDA AND A NEW ZEALAND PATIENT ENJOY THEIR LUNCH AT THE AIMIN ...","caption":"ITALIAN OVERWEIGHT PATIENT LUIGI FADDA AND A NEW ZEALAND PATIENT ENJOY THEIR LUNCH AT THE AIMIN ...","creditText":"REUTERS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144178/is-there-still-hope-for-the-weight-loss-drug-qnexa/","name":"Is There Still Hope for the Weight Loss Drug Qnexa?"}}]}] ```