Despite the FDA issuing an approvable letter in February 2006 for the obesity indication and a non-approvable letter for smoking cessation, the drug did not enter the market in the United States in 2006.The French pharma firm Sanofi-Aventis disclosed that a complete response to the FDA’s approvable letter was submitted on October 26, 2006, triggering a Class I (two-month) or Class II (six-month) review process. On June 13, 2007, FDA’s Endocrine and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) concluded that the French manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis failed to demonstrate the safety of rimonabant and voted against recommending the anti-obesity treatment for approval. Subsequently, Sanofi-Aventis announced that it was withdrawing the new drug application (NDA) for rimonabant and that it would resubmit an application at some point in the future.

On 21 June 2006, the European Commission approved the sale of rimonabant in the then 25-member European Union. Sanofi announced that the first country in which Acomplia will be sold is the United Kingdom. Sales began in July 2006. Sanofi also announced that it projects that the drug will be sold shortly thereafter in Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Finland and Norway. It is expected in Belgium and Sweden in 2007. Ordinary obesity will, according to official medical recommendations, not be enough to acquire the prescription in Sweden; there are additional requirements concerning abnormal blood lipid levels.

The EU’s approval was not a blanket approval, nor did it approve Acomplia for non-obesity related problems such as smoking cessation, although off-label use of the drug is still possible. The approval is in combination with diet and exercise for the treatment of obese patients (BMI greater than or equal to 30), or overweight patients (BMI greater than 27) with associated risk factors, such as type 2 diabetes or dyslipidaemia.