Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) is withdrawing its application to sell its drug rimonabant in the US as a treatment for obesity. The drug has been found to have psychiatric sides effects. This may include suicidal thinking.
According to The Wall Street Journal: "By withdrawing its application, Sanofi is hoping to avoid an outright rejection of the drug by the FDA, which was set to rule by the end of July, analysts said." If the drug does cause thinking it is difficult to see why the company would mind a rejection.
But, Big Pharma’s work is never done. The WSJ adds: "Ben Yeoh, a pharmaceutical analyst with Dresdner Kleinwort in London, said the company may be thinking of resubmitting rimonabant as a diabetes treatment."
Perhaps people with diabetes are less likely than those who are corpulent to think about killing themselves.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected].
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