Canada: priority review for Xenical in diabetes

Health Canada has given Roche's antiobesity drug Xenical (orlistat)priority-review status for adjunctive use with other antidiabetic medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetics who are overweight or obese. Xenical is also under review by the US Food and Drug Administration for this new indication. Irene Hramiak of the University of Western Ontario in Canada said that "weight management should be the first-line treatment of type 2 diabetes...as even a modest reduction in initial body weight improves blood sugar control [and] reduces the severity of cardiovascular risk factors, such as high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure."