Weight-loss drug maker funding film on obesity

GlaxoSmithKline, maker of the weight-loss drug Alli, is moving into the movie business.

The big pharma company plans to announce at the Sundance Film Festival today who will direct a documentary on obesity that the company will pay for.  The film will be made by the Creative Coalition, a nonprofit arts group with an advocacy mission.

A Glaxo executive told the New York Times that the company had no expectations that Alli would be mentioned in the film and that the company simply wanted to educate Americans about obesity.

More than one-third of adults are obese.

But critics have contended that it could end up an infomercial designed to ramp up drug sales. Sales of the first Food and Drug Administration-approved over-the-counter diet drug have been less than expected because of side effects of gas and loose stools.

posted by Courtney Perkes
Orange County Register Communications

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