June 12, 2013 — Belviq® (lorcaserin) this week becomes the first new drug for obesity on pharmacy shelves in more than a decade. Expectations for Belviq are all over the place, ranging from blockbuster hype to a cautious yawn. We can only hope for some middle ground. With Belviq, we have the first totally new drug in more than […]
May 8, 2013 — Almost a year after FDA approved lorcaserin (Belviq®) for introduction in the U.S. and recommended that DEA label it as a class IV controlled substance, DEA has finally cleared the way by concurring with FDA’s recommendation. Class IV is the second least restrictive class for drugs with abuse potential and is the same class assigned […]
December 21, 2012 — The DEA issued its decision this week on new obesity drug, lorcaserin, placing it on Schedule IV, as most analysts expected. Finalizing this decision should be the final hurdle to its launch, which is expected in Q1 2013. The most restrictive DEA schedule, Schedule I, contains drugs that have no accepted medical use in the […]
December 20, 2012 — Another insurer jumped on the obesity coverage bandwagon, which means more good news for people seeking treatment options. Vivus announced its drug, Qsymia, will now be covered by ExpressScripts, the largest U.S. pharmacy benefits manager. Express Scripts will carry Qsymia in its national formulary as a standard option, meaning patients who go through ExpressScripts as […]
November 29, 2012 — November 29, 2012 — The recent approval of two new obesity medications was good news for patients with obesity, but scant health insurance reimbursement of the products has limited physician prescribing and patient use. The news that Aetna, the third largest U.S. insurer, will provide coverage for these drugs marks another important step forward.
October 19, 2012 — October 19, 2012 — An article in today’s Financial Times pointed out that though Lorcaserin (to be marketed as Belviq) is expected to receive Schedule IV status from the US Drug Enforcement Agency or DEA (the FDA recommended Schedule IV, and the DEA tends to follow the direction of the FDA), experts and healthcare advocates don’t […]
October 3, 2012 — October 3, 2012 — Qsymia is the first new prescription weight loss medication on the market in over 10 years, and many, including the innovator company Vivus, thought that this new medication would not be reimbursed by health plans. Payers and many experts were surprised then, by the news that Qsymia was covered by health […]
June 27, 2012 — June 27, 2012 — The Food and Drug Administration announced its approval of lorcaserin today, paving the way for the drug to become only the second prescription obesity treatment available to the roughly one-third of American who have the condition.
