In 2007, the Committee decided to keep orlistat as a Schedule 3 drug, but withdrew its authorization of direct-to-consumer Xenical advertising, stating this "increased pressure on pharmacists to provide orlistat to consumers...this in turn had the potential to result in inappropriate patterns of use". United States
On 23 January 2006, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 11 to 3 to recommend the approval of an OTC formulation of orlistat, to be sold under the brand name Alli by GlaxoSmithKline. Approval was granted on 7 February 2007, and Alli became the first weight loss drug officially sanctioned by the U.S. government for over-the-counter use. Consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen opposed over-the-counter approval for orlistat.Alli became available in the U.S. in June 2007. It is sold as 60 mg capsules—half the dosage of prescription orlistat. European Union and Switzerland
On 21 January 2009, the European Medicines Agency granted approval for the sale of orlistat without a prescription.At least since September 2017, tablets with 60 mg orlistat can be freely sold in Swiss drugstores. Formulations with 120 mg per tablet require a prescription, but can be sold without one in pharmacies under an exemption rule, which is based on a list of easily diagnosable diseases. Generic formulations
U.S. patent protection for Xenical, originally to end on 18 June 2004, was extended by five years (until 2009) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Didactyly
Didactyly (from Greek δι- di- "two") or bidactyly is the condition of having two digits on each limb, as in the Hypertragulidae and two-toed sloth, Choloepus didactylus. In humans this name is used for an abnormality in which the middle digits are missing, leaving only the thumb and fifth finger, or big and little toes. Cloven-hoofed mammals (such as deer, sheep and cattle – Artiodactyla) have only two digits, as do ostriches. Monodactyly
Monodactyly (from Greek μόνος monos- "one") is the condition of having a single digit on a limb, as in modern horses and other equidae (though one study suggests that the frog might be composed of remnants of digits II and IV, rendering horses as not truly monodactyl) as well as sthenurine kangaroos. Functional monodactyly, where the weight is supported on only one of multiple toes, can also occur, as in the theropod dinosaur Vespersaurus. The pterosaur Nyctosaurus retained only the wing finger on the forelimb, rendering it also partially monodactyl. As a congenital defect
Among humans, the term "five-fingered hand" is sometimes used to mean the abnormality of having five fingers, none of which is a thumb. Syndactyly
Syndactyly (from Greek συν- syn "together") is a condition where two or more digits are fused together. It occurs normally in some mammals, such as the siamang and most diprotodontid marsupials such as kangaroos. It occurs as an unusual condition in humans. Polydactyly
Polydactyly (from Greek πολυ- poly- "many") is when a limb has more than the usual number of digits.