Sanofi-aventis on Wednesday announced that the company will discontinue ongoing trials of Acomplia (rimonabant) in all indications. The decision was reached "in light of recent demands by certain national health authorities," as a result of which "the feasibility of the global clinical development programme has been compromised," the drugmaker stated.

A company spokesperson said sanofi-aventis decided to halt the clinical programme, involving 24 000 patients, after regulators in France and Germany ordered trials to be stopped due to concerns over the drug's safety. Sanofi-aventis had intended to continue large trials of Acomplia in patients with diabetes and heart disease. Commenting on the news, Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Ben Yeoh said: "I don't think it's going to affect forecasts because Acomplia was already stripped out. It could yield cost savings in the R&D line, but on the other hand it could be recycled into other R&D projects."

Acomplia generated sales of 54 million euros ($70 million) in the first half of 2008. In October, the European Medicines Agency recommended the suspension of the treatment after the agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use concluded that the product's benefits no longer outweigh its risks.

Reference Articles

Sanofi stops all Acomplia trials after drug pulled in Europe - (Bloomberg)

Sanofi scraps all trials of Acomplia - (Forbes)

Sanofi-aventis ends research on troubled diet drug - (Houston Chronicle)

Sanofi-aventis stops all clinical trials on rimonabant - (SmartMoney)

Sanofi abandons obesity drug (free preview) - (The Wall Street Journal)

Sanofi-aventis to discontinue all clinical trials with rimonabant - (sanofi-aventis)