Acomplia diet drug

Sanofi-Aventis,one of the biggest company in the drug’s field said on April 3rd it still has high hopes for Acomplia, even though it was rejected by a U.S. FDA advisory panel last year .

Marc Cluzel, Sanofi’s head of research, said in a round of interviews in London that he continues to believe Acomplia can be a winner.

Acomplia, which was to have been marketed in the United States as Zimulti, was withdrawn from FDA consideration last June after an expert panel unanimously recommended against approval out of concern over depressive and suicidal side-effects,but it’s still possible to be accepted on the biggest market in the world.

Data from a new clinical trial of possible use of Acomplia in slowing progression of coronary artery disease was reported this week along with news that 43.4 percent of patients who got rimonabant in this trial suffered psychiatric side effects such as anxiety and depression.But this is not a problem in this moment because researchers discovered the cause of those side effects.

Acomplia, in addition to promoting weight loss by blocking the body’s CB-1 receptors, may also block a receptor in the brain called TRPV1, possibly explaining why the diet pill produces depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts in some patients, according to researchers.

This is a great news for people around the world,because many suffer of this disease and they need help.Acomplia also helps patiens who suffer from diabeatis,obesity and also people who want to quit smoking.As the times is running we discover that Rimonabant has many many benefits and I thing that now we are able to say that the side effects are minimum

Cluzel also reiterated that Sanofi intends to resubmit rimonabant to the FDA and regulators worldwide in 2009 for approval as a treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Sanofi-Sythelabo’s attempts to acquire Aventis  is the fact that the company just released great phase 3 data on a pill that would help stop two of the nation’s biggest killers — smoking and obesity.

The drug, rimonabant, or Acomplia, packs a wicked combination punch. It helped roughly one-third of smokers quit and without gaining weight. In non-smokers, it helps overweight people lose 20 pounds and more than three inches off their waists. Finally, Acomplia increased HDL, the so-called “good cholesterol” by 23% while reducing triglycerides by 16%. Weight loss alone usually does not increase HDL. Increasing HDL and modifying lipids other than LDL is a major goal of big pharma players like Pfizer

While only slightly more than a third of smokers quit over a year, compared to nearly 21% of placebo-treated smokers, this is a significant result and compares favorably with other smoking cessation products. Importantly, patients lost an average of a half-pound while on Acomplia, whereas patients on placebo gained over 2 pounds. And, interestingly enough, overweight smokers lost the weight, while normal weight smokers did not.

I think the weight loss data in non-smokers were even more impressive. Nearly 75% of patients lost 5% of their body weight over one year, with 44% losing more than 10%. The weight loss coupled with the changes in their lipid profiles makes this drug candidate particularly promising. As an added bonus, C-reactive protein (CRP)–a marker for heart disease– dropped by 27% and insulin sensitivity rose. Increasing insulin sensitivity is vital for preventing adult-onset diabetes (Type II diabetes) that afflicts many overweight people.

The drug seems to work on the same brain receptor that makes marijuana users crave food, scientifically termed the “munchies.” Apparently, both tobacco and overeating also affect this Endocannabinoid System, sending into disarray. Acomplia blocks the receptors in the brain in order to restore the system to balance. Unfortunately for some users, the drug also causes dizziness and nausea, leading to a 15% dropout rate for the high-dose patients in the trial.

With obesity and smoking sending about 800,000 Americans total to their graves early every year, a drug that can help treat both conditions could be a major breakthrough. As long as there are no nasty Phen-Fen-like surprises, this could be a very popular treatment among the nearly one-quarter of Americans who smoke and the nearly two-thirds of Americans who are overweight. I would expect Acomplia to be available to patients around the second quarter of next year, so you have a whole year to load up on the cake and ice cream to see if this pill will really work.

New data shows that Sanofi-Aventis’ developmental drug Acomplia (rimonabant) significantly improved blood sugar levels in trial patients with Type 2 diabetes, while also reducing body weight. The new data comes from Sanofi-Aventis’ first non-obesity trial with Acomplia. The results of the six month trial, dubbed …acomplia sanofi aventis

Sanofi-Aventis SA says Acomplia, its new antiobesity drug, could reap sales surpassing $3 billion a year. “I can tell you that in my expectations $3 billion is not too much,” …acomplia sanofi aventis

New findings reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, Louisiana, show that first-year improvements in cardiovascular risk factors seen in obese patients treated with Sanofi-Aventis’ Acomplia (rimonabant) are sustained in the second year of therapy.

RIO (Rimonabant In Obesity)-North America was a Phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial which compared two fixed-dose regimens of Acomplia (5mg and 20mg once-daily) to placebo for a period of two years. The study involved …

Merrill Lynch Stock: Sanofi-Aventis Rating: Neutral Price $44.45 52-Week Range $82.60-$101.88

Despite weakness in Sanofi-Aventis’ share price following the launch of generic Plavix, we maintain our neutral rating.

We see the potential for 15% downside to our current 2007 earnings per share forecast. Our fair value assumption assumes the shares trade on an 11% discount to the sector. This discount is justified given the below sector average earnings per share growth, significant patent exposure beyond Plavix and weak pipeline behind Acomplia.

SANOFI-AVENTIS announced its arrival as a combined company with a string of appointments and encouraging trials data on its experimental weight-loss and smoking cessation drug, Acomplia (rimonabant).The French company named its U.S. leadership, appointing Sanofi’s Tim Rothwell as its top executive for North America and Aventis’ Pascal Soriot as head of U.S. operations.

Rothwell, previously president and chief executive for North American operations at Sanofi, joined the company last year from Pharmacia and had headed U.S. operations for Aventis predecessor Rhone-Poulenc …acomplia sanofi aventis

A new anti-obesity pill that market observers say could become the world’s biggest-selling drug is close to getting approval from the European Commission.

The expected green light from Brussels in the next few weeks would mean that the French giant Sanofi-Aventis could begin marketing the treatment, called rimonabant but branded as Acomplia, later this summer. It is the first of a new generation of drugs set to hit the market in the next few years that could transform obesity, still a small market, into a gold mine for the pharmaceutical industry.

Pfizer, Bayer, Eli Lilly and Merck are developing treatments similar to Acomplia, though they are further behind. Sanofi plans to launch Acomplia first in the UK, Germany, Ireland and Scandinavia.

The timing is auspicious. Governments in Europe and the US have put obesity and its associated conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, at the top of their public health agendas. The Department of Health says that more than half of all British adults -24 million people - are either overweight or obese. In America, obesity and its complications are estimated to cost the country $70bn (pounds 37bn) annually, according to Scrip Reports.Gbola Amusa, an analyst with research firm Sanford C Bernstein, said that Acomplia could achieve $4.1bn in annual sales by 2010, in part because it has been shown in clinical trials not only to trim fat but to increase levels of good cholesterol and control diabetes.