Hopes up for sanofi obesity drug (Rimonabant/Acomplia)

Acomplia is tipped by analysts as a future multibillion-dollar-a-year seller, since it can help people both lose weight and quit smoking. Its novel mode of action targets the same biological "switch" in the brain that makes people hungry when they smoke cannabis.

Fri Nov 5, 2004(Reuters) - Expectations rose for Sanofi-Aventis’s big new drug hope Acomplia (or Rimonabant) on Friday as the French firm revealed it would present two-year, rather than one-year, data on the anti-obesity medicine next week.

Acomplia is tipped by analysts as a future multibillion-dollar-a-year seller, since it can help people both lose weight and quit smoking. Until now, however, it had been uncertain how comprehensive the next set of clinical results would be.

The decision to publish two-year figures was taken by industry analysts as a sign the product was progressing well in tests. Results of a North American study into the experimental drug will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association on Nov. 9 in New Orleans.

"They’ve raced and managed to get the two-year data out and it is being presented at a late-breaking session, so the implication from that it is positive," said Marc Booty, an analyst with Commerzbank.

Hopes for good news on Acomplia next week contributed to a gain of more than 2 percent in Sanofi-Aventis shares on Friday. The stock was also boosted by U.S. approval for a new use of its cancer drug Eloxatin. "The Street was only really expecting one-year data, so it seems as though they are further down the line," said one London trader.

10 PERCENT WEIGHT LOSS
Results of two earlier studies have shown that around 40 percent of patients who stay on Acomplia for a year lose more than 10 percent of their body weight. The drug also boosts levels of "good" HDL cholesterol in the blood.

Sanofi-Aventis, the world’s third largest drug maker, aims to file Acomplia for approval with regulators early next year, implying a launch in 2006.

Some analysts believe the firm is sitting on a blockbuster that will allow it to ride out any losses of sales should top-selling blood thinner Plavix lose patent protection. Commerzbank, at the top of the range, predicts peak sales of more than 5 billion euros ($6.36 billion).

Other analysts are more cautious, given the many unknowns about how regulators and healthcare providers will view the product.

Acomplia offers a novel approach to tackling two factors — obesity and smoking — that are responsible for many heart attacks and strokes.

But uncertainties remain about side effects, particularly nausea. Its novel mode of action targets the same biological "switch" in the brain that makes people hungry when they smoke cannabis. The drug binds to and blocks a so-called cannabinoid receptor protein found on the surface of brain cells.

Healthcare officials in North America and Europe have recently expressed increased determination to tackle a growing obesity epidemic, which could help Acomplia’s path to market, some analysts believe.