Two Food and Drug Administration advisory committees on Monday are to discuss allowing over-the-counter sales of orlistat, which GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare proposes to market as Alli (pronounced ''ally''). That version would be half the dose of the prescription form of the drug, known as Xenical, which won FDA approval in 1999.
If the agency ultimately approves the drug, it would be the only FDA-endorsed weight-loss drug available over-the-counter. The FDA usually follows the advice of its advisory panels.
An FDA reviewer found the drug is a "safe and effective weight loss agent," but held off on recommending whether the Nonprescription Drugs and the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs advisory committees should in turn recommend to the FDA that it approve the drug for sale without a prescription.
