Diet drug rimonabant (Acomplia / Zimulti) sales in Europe in the first three months of 2007 totaled a disappointing 15 million Euros, Sanofi-Aventis announced May 4th, suggesting that widespread European denial of insurance reimbursement is dampening use of the expensive diet pill.

Sanofi announced that since Acomplia was launched in Europe last June, the diet pill has been used by more than 130,000 overweight and obese individuals.

But analysts said the number suggested that many apparently have sampled the diet drug and discontinued use, since at its European price, continuous use by fewer than half that number of Europeans would have produced a higher quarterly sales figure.

Government authorities in some of Europe's largest markets have either declined to reimburse patients for Acomplia, or have limited reimbursement for the expensive diet drug to patients who are obese and have uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.

In a conference call with analysts, Sanofi executive vice president Hanspeter Spek said the company estimated that 40 percent of the people purchasing Acomplia thus far are paying for it out of their own pockets.

Spek also reiterated the company's belief that it will finally get Acomplia onto the market in the United States by the end of the year, where it would be sold under the trade name Zimulti.

Safety concerns about the novel drug, which has been repeatedly held up by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will aired by an FDA advisory panel on June 13.

The U.S. regulatory agency is expected to finally make a decision on whether to approve rimonabant before the end of July.