USA Today, "A Body of Work"

          As Americans continue to pack on the pounds, drug companies and obesity researchers are racing to develop the next prescription diet drug. An estimated 50 to 100 obesity medications are in the early stages of development, pharmaceutical insiders say.
          Some are designed to burn calories; others tinker with brain chemistry to control appetite; still others promote a feeling of fullness in other ways. Some may one day be used to treat people who have only 10 or 20 pounds to lose.
          Companies are moving ahead in investigating new compounds despite a recent spate of bad press about a possible link between the appetite suppressant Meridia and some patient deaths from cardiovascular problems, and the 1997 withdrawal of two diet pills, including fenfluramine, half of the popular fen-phen combination.