Pharma Giles writes.....

A GSK production, coming to a cinema near you…

…and who can forget the iconic scene where Kane (played by Alec Baldwin) is gorging himself in the ship’s canteen.

Suddenly he clutches at his stomach, his face a picture of agony.

Little does he know that his diet medication is consuming him from within.

He falls to the ground, writhing with pain, as his crewmates look on helplessly. Suddenly, there is a ghastly, wet, tearing sound.

“I think you need to change your spacesuit,” says Ripley.

“Bugger,” replies Kane. “Third time today…”

Story

Wynonna Judd - the mugshot of alli

Story
Country singer Wynonna Judd was arrested in November 2003 for drunk driving. Following a traffic stop, Nashville cops detected the smell of booze on the 39-year-old performer, whose eyes were watery and dilated. After consenting to a Breathalyzer, Judd blew a .175--more than twice the Tennessee limit.

TSG

GSK - Alli approved for EU

Orlistat 60mg (Alli) has been recommended as a non-prescription product by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

The prescription-only to non-prescription switch will be the first time the status of a medicine has been changed centrally, allowing approval of Alli in all 27 EU member states by the end of 2008.

A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline, the company behind the switch application, said there were plans to launch Alli in the UK in 2009.

Orlistat 60mg will be indicated for weight loss in adults with a body mass index of 28 or more, and should be taken in conjunction with a reduced calorie, lower-fat diet.

The spokeswoman added: “If successful, GSK will provide comprehensive training and education for pharmacy staff so that they are able to advise customers on Alli.”

GSK completed an agreement with Roche (which markets prescription orlistat 120mg) in February 2007 that enabled the company to seek regulatory approval for orlistat 60mg as the first non-prescription weight loss product to be licensed in Europe.

The recommendation has now been sent to the European Commission for ratification of the decision.

Source

GSK - alli: anyone know where Steve Burton has gone?

From the alli blog:

In the marketing profession, change is a constant. At alliconnect, we've recently had a change in leadership.

Founding alliconnect blogger, Steve Burton, recently resigned from his position as Vice President of Weight Control for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. Steve was instrumental to the creation of alliconnect blog and his blog entry on his oops experience is still one of the most visited posts to date.

You will soon be introduced to Karen Scollick, the newly appointed Vice President for US Weight Control at GSK. Karen has held many leadership opositions in the GSK Consumer Healthcare business, the most recent as the General Manager for GSK Consumer Healthcare Canadian and Puerto Rico.

Look for her first post on alliconnect in the coming weeks.

Insider's view: Resignation!

Hmmmm!
Wonder what's next for Steve?

Hat Tip: http://pharmagiles.blogspot.com/
Also, good luck to Karen!

No sh*t - GSK's alli sales "pretty underwhelming"

ALLI CAT -Story

Attention alli users!

"Dishes targeted to health-conscious consumers at popular chains such as Chili's, Taco Bell and Applebee's contained as much as twice the calories and eight times the grams of fat than the restaurants claimed in their published nutrition information," reports Isaac Wolf, citing research done in eight cities by television stations affiliated with the Scripps media chain.

The worst offender was the Macaroni Grill, a restaurant chain owned by Brinker International. Its "Pollo Margo Skinny Chicken" was supposed to have 500 calories but actually had 1,022, with 49 grams of fat rather than the promised 6.

"People have a right to know what's in their food," said Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "How can you exercise personal responsibility and make an informed choice if you don't have basic information?"

http://www.prwatch.org/node/7364

Anal leakage

The "ins and outs"!

GSK - alli: slimming sales

GlaxoSmithKline's US fat buster's first-quarter sterling sales failed to get into double figures.

Alli recorded sales of just £9.0 million (€11.2 million) in the first quarter of this year. GSK put this down to inventory issues.

US market demand for Alli was still strong, the company said, with underlying demand estimated by retail data to have been worth £35 million in consumer sales.

Alli generated sales of around £160 million in the nine-month period between its launch last June and the end of the first quarter.

Let's hope these sales are good enough to prevent Steve Burton from having another accident!