Voila Acomplia!

It looks like the French will see the weight loss drug Acomplia in pharmacies very soon following an announcement by the French drug company Sanofi Aventis that they will be launching the drug in March. The Sanofi head of operations Mr. Spek said that they were now ready following discussions with the relevant authorities to start the proper marketing and selling of the new diet drug.

Recently we reported that the Health Authority of France’s Transparency Committee had decided that the drug could be distributed free to certain obese patients who suffer from diabetes. Acomplia were hoping that the drug would be made available free for all obese people but this was not given the go ahead. Sanofi say that they will be appealing the ruling and hope that sometime in the future all obese people will be allowed to get this drug for free paid for by the State.

Sanofi Aventis are very keen that Acomplia is not just seen as a weight loss drug and have done much testing to show that it can low cholesterol and reduce the symptoms suffered by diabetics. If this is sufficiently proven the chances of it being given full reimbursable status will be much greater. Acomplia was first sold in Europe in June 2006 when it was launched in the UK and has sold very well and Sanofi say that their sales targets were all met.

The big issue for Sanofi is America as it is the largest weight loss drug arena in the world and could mean massive sales of 3 billion dollars each year according to market analysts. The decision from the FDA on Acomplia in America has been postponed till the end of July 2007 subject to undisclosed information that is required. Ukmedix is confident that it will be approved for sale there soon.