ACOMPLIA RECOMMENDED FOR REIMBURSEMENT IN FRANCE

Sanofi-aventis announced that the French health authority's Transparency Committee has published its recommendation on the reimbursement of Acomplia. The committee decided that the weight-loss drug should be reimbursed to treat patients with obesity associated with Type 2 diabetes that is insufficiently controlled by a monotherapy of metformin or sulfonylurea. The drug is to be prescribed in conjunction with diet and exercise.

Last month German regulators decided to classify Acomplia (rimonabant) as a non-reimbursable, or lifestyle, drug. Sanofi-aventis said it intends to challenge the decision in court.

Several other European countries, including Sweden, Denmark and Ireland, have decided in favor of reimbursing the drug for treating obesity and diabetes.

Acomplia, which belongs to a class of drugs called cannabinoid type 1 receptor blockers, was approved in the European Union in June 2006. The French drugmaker's application for Acomplia in the U.S. is still being considered.