Sanofi-Aventis’ Diet drug Acomplia (rimonabant) is getting quite good responses at Indian pharmacies. According to reports from the Indian media, Acomplia in generic form is being sold without a prescription for as little as 12 cents.

Sanofi received approval to sell Acomplia in India in May, the same month as the generic-drug makers. The company hasn't decided whether to sell its branded version there. ``We're evaluating our options,'' Podvin said. ``Of course, it's a concern''.

While sales of so-called "generic rimonabant" are entirely legal in India, where pharmaceutical manufacturers are allowed to produce reverse-engineered versions of drugs patented before 1995, sale of these Indian versions of rimonabant would not be legal in the U.S., Europe or Canada.

A half-dozen pharmaceutical companies -- including such well-regarded generic drug manufacturers as Ranbaxy and Cipla -- received approval from Indian regulatory authorities in May to sell their own versions of rimonabant.

Acomplia- sold in Europe for more than $100 per month- is still awaiting for approval for sale in the United States. Some doctors are worried that the depressive side-effects of rimonabant -- which led an FDA advisory panel to recommend that Acomplia not be approved for sale in the U.S. -- may be cause for increased concern if large numbers of Americans take rimonabant without medical supervision.

"This is going to be potentially disastrous,'' Dr. Jeffrey Mechanik, an endocrinologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, told Bloomberg News."People are going to be over-dosing'' if generics flood the market and people take them inappropriately.