It could receive FDA's approval this month.

It could receive FDA's approval this month.
Magic pill? Lose weight, ease illness, quit smoking
By Linda Loyd
Inquirer Staff Writer


http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/13788638.htm


It sounds too good to be true:

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, 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. 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.

"There is a lot of excitement about it," said Daniel J. Rader, cholesterol expert and director of Presbyterian Medical Center's Lipid Referral Center at the University of Pennsylvania. "We haven't had a new drug for obesity come out in quite a while, and the drugs we have aren't the greatest."