A federal advisory panel rejected Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s weight-loss drug lorcaserin on concerns the drug didn't work well and carried potential safety problems.

The Food and Drug Administration's endocrinologic and metabolic drugs advisory committee voted 5 to 9 against a question that asked whether the potential benefits of the product outweighed the potential risks of the medication "when used long-term in a population of overweight and obese individuals."

The panel's vote amounts to a recommendation that the FDA not approve the drug. The FDA isn't required to follow the advice of its panels—made up of non-FDA medical experts—but usually does.

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