Sanofi Aventis launches its weight loss drug Rimonabant Acomplia today in the UK. The once-a-day pill was shown to help 40 percent of obese participants lose 10 percent of their body weight in clinical trials. Rimonabant Acomplia works to control appetite by blocking brain activity that regulates the body’s energy and its ability to break down fats and sugars in the blood. The drug was found to reduce disease-causing fatty deposits around internal organs. However, the supposed “blockbuster” drug also comes with side effects, including dizziness, nausea, anxiety, diarrhea and insomnia. Rimonabant Acomplia — commonly known as rimonabant — will be made available in the UK to obese patients with a body mass index (BMI,rimonabant acomplia) of 30 or more, and to overweight patients with a BMI of 27 or more who either lack “good” HDL cholesterol, have too much “bad” LDL cholesterol, or are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Rimonabant will only be available to those patients who also commit to making healthy dietary and exercise changes. Critics of the drug say diet and exercise — without prescription drugs — should be enough to help people lose weight, especially considering that Rimonabant Acomplia comes with potentially harmful side effects. Many natural alternatives exist that control cravings and reduce appetite without the use of expensive and potentially dangerous prescription drugs. CesaOnline.com takes a look at Sanofi-Aventis’ Rimonabant Acomplia, also known as rimonabant, which reportedly reduces people’s cravings for food and cigarettes.

Summary:

A pill that helps you lose weight, quit smoking, and reduce the cardiovascular risks for diabetes and heart disease.
Sanofi-Aventis SA’s new treatment, Rimonabant Acomplia, also known as rimonabant, has shown promise in a half-dozen clinical trials in curbing the cravings that make people hungry and reach for a cigarette.
The experimental drug, which works differently from other weight-loss medicines, could be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as soon as this month.(buy rimonabant acomplia)
And industry analysts predict it could become the world’s first blockbuster antiobesity treatment, with annual sales of 2 billion to 4 billion euros, or $2.4 billion to $4.8 billion.
In studies, a 20-milligram dose once a day helped patients lose 5 percent to 10 percent of their weight in a year, raise good HDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides, and improve blood sugar and blood pressure.
If Rimonabant Acomplia gets marketing approval from the FDA later this month, Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis, which employs 1,000 at its drug-development center in Malvern, has said it could begin selling the pill by June 30.
Rimonabant is the first in a new class of medicines that works in the body’s endocannabinoid system, which has a role in appetite.(buy rimonabant acomplia)
Yet pharmaceutical companies are still seeking a magic pill for obesity.
With about 30 percent of U.S. adults obese - more than 60 million people - and 16 percent of children and teens overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the potential market is huge, analysts say.
Wadden said scientists identified a part of the brain “associated with eating or overeating” - the cannabinoid receptor - and learned there are natural substances in the body that turn the receptor on.(buy rimonabant acomplia)
“Obesity medications get no respect,” said Penn’s Wadden.