Shares of VIVUS (VVUS) were up nearly 5% yesterday, after the announced a deal with Aetna (AET) for a weight loss program for the big insurer's members. It combines both a drug and lifestyle focus for losing weight. This could potentially boost sales of VIVUS' weight loss drug Qsymia, which came to market with a lot of hype but so far has posted meager numbers.
In this video, Motley Fool health care analyst David Williamson discusses the deal, and how beneficial it could be both to VIVUS and Aetna, but he also notes that the obesity drug war that many thought would explode between Qsymia and Arena Pharmaceuticals' (ARNA) Belviq has ended up in more of a fizzle, with sales lagging expectations across the board. David then points to one competitor that may end up being far more interesting in this space with a drug that may fall right in the sweet spot between safety and efficacy, and why FDA approval for this competitor drug may be just around the corner.
