Study Shows Merck Obesity Drug Taranabant Helps Weight Loss

Boston (dbTechno) - Merck & Co. has come out on Monday and stated that their experimental obesity drug taranabant helped patients lose a significant amount of weight when combined with diet and exercise.

Merck & Co. revealed some results from their clinical study on the experimental obesity drug. The drug, taranabant, is a cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker used to fight obesity.

They stated that patients who were taking the obesity drug taranabant lost double the amount of weight compared to patients who were taking a placebo.

The raw numbers revealed that patients taking taranabant lost 14.5 pounds on average. This compared to only 5.7 lbs for those taking a placebo.

These weight loss numbers come 52-weeks into the study.

Merck stated that this was in combination with diet and exercise, for both those on the placebo and those taking the drug.

The results of the study to this point have been presented at the American College of Cardiology conference.