FDA Approves Drugs For HIV And Obesity

FDA has given the green light for Gilead Sciences’ Truvada, a combination of the antivirals emtricitabine and tenofovir, to become the first drug for lowering the risk of HIV infection in people at high risk of contracting the disease. Truvada is already combined with other antiretrovirals to treat people with HIV. Separately, Vivus has received FDA approval for the obesity treatment Qsymia, a combination of two already-approved drugs: the weight-loss drug phentermine and the antiseizure medication topiramate. Qsymia is the second new obesity drug to be approved in recent weeks. In late June, Arena Pharmaceuticals received the okay to sell Belviq, the first new drug for obesity in more than a decade.