Table 1.

History of prescription antiobesity drugs.

Drug	Year initially approved	Comments
Phentermine	1959	Short-term use; most prescribed drug in the US; withdrawn in Europe in 2000 for unfavorable benefit-to-risk
Diethylpropion	1959	Short-term use
Phendimetrazine	1959	Short-term use
Benzphetamine	1960	Short-term use
Mazindol	1973	Short-term use; discontinued in 1999
Fenfluramine	1973	Short-term use; withdrawn in 1997 due to increased risk of valvular heart disease
Dexfenfluramine	1996	Long-term use; withdrawn in 1997 due to increased risk of valvular heart disease
Sibutramine	1997	Long-term use; withdrawn in 2010 due to increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events
Orlistat	1999	Long-term use; Approved in 2003 for pediatric obesitya
Rimonabant	2006	Long-term use; approved in Europe only; withdrawn in 2008 due to serious psychiatric adverse events
Phentermine + Topiramate	2012	Long-term use; marketed under REMSb to reduce teratogenicity risk
Lorcaserin	2012	Long-term use; marketing delayed by a year due to DEA classification process
Naltrexone + Bupropion	2014	Long-term use
Liraglutide 3.0 mg	2014	Long-term use; also approved at a lower dose for type 2 diabetes in 2010

^aAlli is lower-dose (60 mg) orlistat approved in 2007 for use without prescription.

^bREMS, Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy.