An experimental drug from Sanofi-Aventis, viewed as pivotal to the newly merged company's future, showed good results in the largest clinical study of the product to date. Acomplia, or rimonabant, is tipped by analysts as a future multibillion-dollar-a-year seller, since it can help people both lose weight and quit smoking, although concerns remain about side effects. Obese patients treated for one year on the highest dose of 20 mg per day shed an average of 8.6 kg (19 lbs) and lost 8.5 cm (3.5 inches) of waistline, researchers showed, while 39 percent lost more than one-10th of their body weight. The drug also boosted levels of "good" HDL cholesterol in the blood by 27 percent. The results of the 1,507-patient study, presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, matched those of an earlier trial in March and keep Sanofi-Aventis on track to file for approval early next year, implying a launch in 2006. Some analysts believe Sanofi is sitting on a blockbuster that will allow it to ride out any losses of sales should its top-selling blood thinner Plavix lose patent protection. Commerzbank predicts 2010 sales of more than 5 billion euros ($6 billion). Many doctors, too, are excited by a novel approach to tackling two factors -- obesity and smoking -- that are responsible for many heart attacks and strokes. "It's striking data," said Otto Smiseth of Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo. --mor 1430 Local Time 1130 GMT
