U.S. health agency Food and Drug Administration said it would limit the use of an obesity drug from the Arena Pharmaceuticals as it has little effect on losing weight, Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

FDA sent a letter to Arena for more data on the obesity drug lorcaserin's long-term efficacy.

The FDA letter said the current weight-loss data don't include diabetes patients.

The FDA move shows the regulatory bar is high for obesity drugs. Some investors said they will continue to push for FDA approval of lorcaserin.

Arena's chief executive Jack Lief called it an important step toward the FDA's approval of the obesity drug, agreeing that the company will supply more data on the drug.

The pharmaceutical company said it believes the drug still can be in market once the company supplies more data to the FDA.