The war has been on for a long time now in the fight on obesity and there is a new medication currently in the making, it has a name, MK-0364 or Taranabant. Taranabant is Merek's little project being developed to fight the buldge but since it is currently in trials, it will not be on the market for potentially a year yet. For those who are interested, it is a cannabinoid-1 (CB-1) receptor inverse agonist.

Back on June 15th of 2007 Acomplia® or Rimonabant was put on hold by the FDA for approval in the USA due to some questions over the possible side effects those taking it may experience. Merek however hopes that the stage 3 trials proves to be more successful in the FDA's eyes and that this medication can start to be prescribed for those suffering from obesity. It would make sense that Taranabant would have to have fewer negative side effects than rimonabant for the FDA to consider it. Merek hopes to bring this medication before the FDA sometime next year. Meanwhile more clinical testing will be done to determine its overall effectiveness and if its benefits outweigh any potential risks involved with it.

Since obesity is such a huge problem affecting millions around the the USA alone. There are other big pharmaceutical companies working towards other solutions to fight obesity. Pfizer for example is currently working on a substance known only as CP-945598. This would receive a common name if testing proves to be successful. But for now it is simply known as CP-945598. There are most likely other medications being tested by other companies as well, just nothing on the news of them as such. But with such a huge market for them it is most likely that some are in the works. Regardless any medication has to go through testing by the FDA before hitting the USA market.

Obesity problems around developed nations have continues to grow at a rather quick pace. Many contribute this to all the modern conveniences that society has, such as computers, and machinery and other sedentary past times such as video games and television. Exercise is often being overlooked as an important part of life and much of the food many consume is very high in fats and sugars. All of this can easily lead to a nation ever increasing their belt size.