For the next three or four years Sanofi-Aventis sais that they will not try  to sell diet medication acomplia rimonabant in the United States. The company declared that on Sept. 17th. But they also showed that they still have  high expectations for acomplia rimonabant, specially as a treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Sanofi’s head of research Marc Cluzel said:”I believe  in Acomplia rimonabant because it is a unique product,” this happened in front of all the reporters and analysts at a presentation on the company’s research and development program.

Meanwhile Acomplia Rimonabant was launched  Europe’s market in 2006 and it is now  available also in of other states,the producer of the drug, Sanofi, retired its application,that had the purpose to acced with acomplia in the United States ,after  FDA  unanimously recommended the rejection of  the drug because of the side-effects including depression and suicidality.

Sanof declared that they planned to use approximately 11,000 of the 17,000 people for this trial, and they have clues that the result  this study will be available to share with the FDA in 2010.

Cluzel declared that  Sanofi expects to refile its application with the FDA after longer-term data on the use of Acomplia rimonabant has been gathered from the large CRESCENDO trial, which got underway in December 2005.

But despite the fact Sanofi got some bad news related with the near-term future of Acomplia rimonabant as a diet drug, the company said that their new plans are now to aggressively  press ahead with some new studies in order to aimed gain the  approval for using acomplia rimonabant as a main-line treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Sanofi is also  planning to launch a trial to compare Acomplia rimonabant to Merck’s diabeties medication named Januvia in the first quarter of 2008 .

The company said they are hopping to file for approvals around the world for Acomplia rimonabant as a treatment for diabetes in 2009.

Sanofi also declared that it also hopes to file for regulatory approval of a medication that is a combination of Acomplia rimonabant and a cholesterol-lowering statin in 2011.