Acomplia has just been approved in the European Union. Is Acomplia approved in the United States?

  • No. Sanofi is still awaiting U.S. marketing go-ahead which it has said could come by the end of this year.
  • U.S. health authorities have asked Sanofi for more information on Acomplia.
  • Acomplia received European Union marketing approval in June 2006.
  • The first launch will take place in Britain in July and be followed by launches in Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Finland and Norway in the second half of this year, according to Sanofi.

Acomplia Information Resource

acomplia tabletWelcome to the Acomplia information web site. If you, like millions of people around the world, struggle to keep your weight down, you cannot fail to have heard about Acomplia, purported to be the new wonder slimming drug. In clinical trials, over one year a third of patients lost 10% of their initial bodyweight, whilst nearly two thirds of patients on the trial lost over 5% of their initial bodyweight.

So that you can make an informed decision about this drug, this site has been created to provide a dedicated information resource about Acomplia, together with a forum where you can discuss your own experiences with the drug and slimming in general and learn from the experiences of others.

How does Acomplia work?

  • Acomplia acts by selectively blocking CB1 receptors found in the brain and in peripheral organs important in glucose and lipid (or fat) metabolism, including adipose tissue, the liver, gastrointestinal tract and muscle1.
  • Acomplia switches off the same brain circuits that make people hungry when they smoke cannabis.
  • CB1 receptor blockade with Acomplia acts to decrease the overactivity of the endocannabinoid system (EC system)2,3. The EC system is a recently characterised physiological system that includes receptors such as the CB1 receptor and it has been shown to play an important role in regulating body weight and in controlling energy balance, as well as glucose and lipid (or fat) metabolism.

Acomplia in the UK and EU

Acomplia has been approved for use within the EU and was available to patients in the UK from June 28th, 2006. However, the drug is not currently available on the NHS (the UK’s National Health Service) and at the present time is only available on private prescription.

In order to become available on the NHS, Acomplia will need to be approved by NICE, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. It is expected that this approval will take in the region of two years.

Once approved by NICE, Acomplia is likely to only be available on the NHS to patients who are clinically obese (they have a BMI in excess of 30) or overweight (they have a BMI in excess of 27) and exhibiting other clinical indications such as type II diabetes or an unsatisfactory blood lipid profile.

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