Remember, it was in 2009, the GSK laboratories launched the Alli pill in France with a lot of advertising campaigns and tempting promises such as the loss of 4.5 cm of waist circumference in 6 months. But 3 years later, the miracle pill is no longer sold in France … The manufacturer mentions “a problem of supplying the molecule in January 2012” linked to “the French context of theMediator affair“.
Alli was using orlistat, the molecule used in Xenical, but in a lean version. It was half-dose (60 mg instead of 120) but promised 80% of the effectiveness of Xenical; and above all, it was on sale without a prescription in pharmacies, unlike Xenical which is issued on medical prescription. However, this drug had to be dispensed by pharmacists to people with a BMI over 28 but difficult for professionals to control who was actually going to use the drug.
The Alli pill has been in the sights of the French health authorities for many years. In 2011, the French Agency for the Safety of Health Products (Afssaps, which became ANSM in 2012) warned against the “risk of rare but serious liver damage” during weight loss treatment with orlistat capsules and had placed this product on its list of drugs under surveillance.
The review prescribe also returns to the limited effects of Alli and term of weightloss but on its many side effects: the weight loss was only 3.5 pounds extra compared to a placebo in 12 to 24 months. On the other hand, it was not lacking in inconveniences: urge and faecal incontinence, gas, greasy stools, poor absorption of vitamins …
If Alli has indeed disappeared from the shelves of French pharmacies, the drug is still sold in many European countries and in the United States. As for Xenical, offered on prescription as part of medical monitoring, it is still available in France.
