Meridia works on the appetite control center of the brain by decreasing the amounts of several chemicals, called neurotransmitters. These chemicals carry messages, such as "I'm hungry," from the brain to the rest of the body. Meridia blocks these chemicals and their messages, so someone doesn't feel as hungry.

MERIDIA (sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate) is an orally administered agent for the treatment of obesity. Chemically, the active ingredient is a racemic mixture of the (+) and (-) enantiomers of cyclobutanemethanamine, 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-N,Ndimethyl-
á-(2-methylpropyl)-, hydrochloride, monohydrate, and has an empirical formula of C17H29Cl2NO. Its molecular weight is 334.33.
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Sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate is a white to cream crystalline powder with a solubility of 2.9 mg/mL in pH 5.2 water. Its octanol:water partition coefficient is 30.9 at pH 5.0.

Each MERIDIA capsule contains 5 mg, 10 mg, and 15 mg of sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate. It also contains as inactive ingredients: lactose monohydrate, NF; microcrystalline cellulose, NF; colloidal silicon dioxide, NF; and magnesium stearate, NF in a hard-gelatin capsule [which contains titanium dioxide, USP; gelatin; FD&C Blue No. 2 (5- and 10-mg capsules only); D&C Yellow No. 10 (5- and 15-mg capsules only), and other inactive ingredients].