Anti-obesity pharmacotherapy: Future perspectives utilising 5-HT2C receptor agonists

Obesity is a global epidemic responsible for the poor health of perhaps up to a billion people, and shows little sign of abating. Consequently, increasing efforts have been made within the pharmaceutical industry to develop a drug-based therapy to combat the condition. One such strategy has focussed on the development of 5-HT2C receptor agonists as anti-obesity agents. Some compounds have now advanced to clinical trial and there remains considerable optimism that 5-HT2C receptor agonists will add to the pharmacological arsenal to fight obesity.

Section editors:David Sibley – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USAC. Anthony Altar – Psychiatric Genomics, Gaithersburg, USATheresa Branchek – Lundbeck Research, Paramus, USA