Acomplia diet drug

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.