Alli: the benefits of bringing existing products into the consumer space
Alli (pronounced ally) is a “new” over the counter (OTC) diet drug that previously was available as prescription Xenical, as reported by the WSJ and the NYTimes.
It works as a “fat blocker”– blocking absorption of fats into the intestine. This leads, not surprisingly, to side effects caused by unabsorbed fats: foul smelling gas, oily leakage (hence the caution to bring an extra pair of dark pants), and issues absorbing fat-soluble vitamins.
Reports on its efficacy aren’t great, but clear benefits accrue to 20%, at least while they take the pill:
• One in five will lose 10% or more of body weight
• Half will lose less than 5% of their body weight
The funny thing is that outside of the fat calories dropped into the stool, the bad side effects may be the major benefit. Think about it– keeping fat calorie intake under 15g per meal may alleviate the side effects, punishing the user who eats a fatty meal. This is actually a great fit with the consumer mindset– short-term feedback for bad choices (or positive impact for sticking with the plan depending on how you think about it).
Just as Antabuse causes significant negative effects from drinking alcohol after taking the pill, Alli may be the reinforcement mechanism to train better better behavior.
In any case, the sale of this product shows that making the medical system more accessible to consumers appears to spark additional ability for consumers to get things they think will help them. A product that was already available is suddenly flying off the shelves, simply by letting consumers access it directly and conveniently. Given the barriers providers put up keeping people from visiting them in their practices, what happens when they make it easy for consumers to get the help they want? The popularity of retail clinics give us an early answer…
