Cetilistat is a drug designed to treat obesity

Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...

. It acts in the same way as the older drug orlistat

Orlistat

Orlistat , also known as tetrahydrolipstatin, is a drug designed to treat obesity. Its primary function is preventing the absorption of fats from the human diet, thereby reducing caloric intake...

 (Xenical) by inhibiting pancreatic lipase

Pancreatic lipase

Pancreatic lipase, also known as pancreatic triacylglycerol lipase, is secreted from the pancreas, and is the primary lipase that hydrolyzes dietary fat molecules in the human digestive system, converting triglyceride substrates found in ingested oils to monoglycerides and free fatty acids.Bile...

, an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that breaks down triglycerides in the intestine

Intestine

In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...

. Without this enzyme, triglycerides from the diet are prevented from being hydrolyzed

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...

 into absorbable free fatty acid

Fatty acid

In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a long unbranched aliphatic tail , which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have a chain of an even number of carbon atoms, from 4 to 28. Fatty acids are usually derived from...

s and are excreted undigested.

In human trials, cetilistat was shown to produce similar weight loss to orlistat, but also produced similar side effects such as oily, loose stools, fecal incontinence

Fecal incontinence

Fecal incontinence is the loss of regular control of the bowels. Involuntary excretion and leaking are common occurrences for those affected. Subjects relating to defecation are often socially unacceptable, thus those affected may be beset by feelings of shame and humiliation...

, frequent bowel movements, and flatulence

Flatulence

Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...

. It is likely that the same precautions would apply in that absorption of fat-soluble vitamin

Vitamin

A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. In other words, an organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on...

s and other fat-soluble nutrients may be inhibited, requiring vitamin supplements to be used to avoid deficiencies.

Cettilistat has completed Phase 1 and 2 trials in the West and is currently in Phase 3 trials in Japan where it is partenered with Takeda. Norgina BV has now acquired the full global rights to Cettilistat from Alizyme after the latter went into administration.