Orlistat Weight Loss Drug Linked To Liver Damage

Chrissie Cole

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The Food and Drug Administration has received several reports of liver damage associated with the weight loss drug orlistat (sold over-the-counter as Alli) and Xenical (prescription strength).

The agency has received 32 reports of serious liver injury in patients taking orlistat, between 1997 and 2008, including six cases of liver failure. Symptoms of liver failure can include weakness, fatigue, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and jaundice.

The FDA’s investigation is ongoing. The agency has not definitively established an link between orlistat and liver injury. Consumers should continue taking Xenical as prescribed and Alli users should continue to use the product as directed.

In April, the FDA looked at the issue of safety and the consumer group, Public Citizen petitioned the FDA in 2006 to remove Xenical from the market because of its link to the risk of aberrant crypt foci, a possible precursor to colon cancer.

Read the FDA's News Release.