Drug Technical Advisory Board has recommended a ban on the use of anti-obesity drug, 'Rimonabant', in the country for the possible side effects it can cause.
Studies showed that it had serious psychiatric side effects including the suicidal tendencies. The drug, a potential blockbuster, was launched in Europe in 2006, but faced similar predicament in the developed countries.
Sanofi-aventis had already stopped the sales of the anti-obesity drug called Acomplia throughout Europe, in view of concerns that the medicine entailed more risks than benefits for those taking it. The French company had also announced that it would not take the same drug to other countries also. In 2007, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had banned the anti-obesity drug based on manufacturer's studies that revealed Acomplia increased the risk of the patient developing depression, anxiety and stress disorders.The European Medicines Agency, after its study, has also revealed that overweight or obese people who had been treated with Acomplia were at a double the risk of suffering from psychiatric problems than a group of patients who had been given a placebo instead for their condition.
