Sanofi-Aventis, developer of the much touted obesity drug Acomplia, told financial analysts on May 13th that it was preparing to launch the drug as early as the end of this year.

Hanspeter Spek, the company's executive vice president of pharmaceutical operations, indicated that Sanofi was very close to filing for approval to market the drug with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European regulators.

"The earliest possible launch date is the end of the fourth quarter," Spek said.

Spek and Jean-Claude Leroy were speaking on a conference call to financial analysts after Sanofi-Aventis released a report on its first-quarter earnings.