Weighing in; Xenical, Meridia use motivating advertising to prod overweight Americans to action.(Brief Article)

Advertising Age, April, 2000 by Henderson, Shirley

Pharmaceutical companies are reaping the fat of the land.

In 1999, the anti-obesity prescription drug market generated revenues of $338.6 million, showing a startling growth rate of 80.6% from the previous year, according to marketing consultant Frost & Sullivan.

Although that is a small fraction of the $33 billion Frost & Sullivan calculates U.S. consumers spend annually on weight-loss products and services, pharmaceutical companies are hoping even more consumers will find the answer to their weight-loss problem in a prescription bottle.

FEN-PHEN SCARE

Consider the fen-phen incident in 1997 in which an estimated 6 million people had taken the combination of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine only to discover later the mixture was...