Diet pill alli is all set to rule the market as Sanofi
pulls bid to sell
Diet drug Accomplia in the U.S.

It's good news for GlaxoSmithKline's diet pill alli as its rival competitors Sanofi's Accomplia will not be sold in the market for the time being. Non-prescription diet pill alli (low-dose Xenical) has got a big boost on 29th June, 2007 as Sanofi-Aventis formally abandoned its plans to launch its diet pill in the market as it knew that it would face rejection next month if it applied for approval to FDA.

As pending further study of rimonabant's link to an increased risk of depression and suicidality, FDA's expert advisory committee unanimously recommended that sale of rimomabant not be permitted in the United States.

In a report, Sanofi said it would "undertake the necessary discussions with the FDA to determine" what supplementary information is required before submitting its application, which will probably not occur until 2010.

However, Sanofi-Aventis is committed to making all efforts necessary to make rimonabant available to patients in the U.S. market", the company told.

Sanofi Senior Vice President Jean-Pierre Lehner said Acomplia is now being taken by more than 200,000 patients. The first weight loss drug Rimonabant- currently approved for sale in 42 countries- has been on sale in Europe for more than a year.

In agreement with the FDA advisory panel, European Union regulators said a week ago that they will review the medicine for psychiatric side effects, and said they are "currently reviewing the available data on psychiatric events."

The European Medicines Agency added, "The review is expected to be finalised at the July meeting and its outcome will be communicated then."