A warning has been issued by The European Commission saying that fakes of the medicine Acomplia are currently being sold via several websites. The medication Acomplia has been developed to treat obesity and related risk factors and help in stopping smoking. Currently the medicine is still under evaluation by the European Medicines Agency and the product will only receive marketing authorization by the European Commission once its quality, safety and efficacy have been satisfactorily established by the EMEA scientific committee, which is still pending.

Following approval, the company intends to market Rimonabant under the name Acomplia and it is important to note that buying unlicensed and counterfeit or illicit copies of Rimonabant may be putting people’s health at risk. This underlines European Commission concern that criminals are taking advantage of the anonymity of the internet to sell fake, adulterated and unlicensed medicines to an unsuspecting public, putting lives at risk as well as undermining the pharmaceutical industry.  

The French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis, is presently not selling Rimonabant anywhere in the world but the European Commission said Acomplia has become the latest example of “criminals taking advantage of the anonymity of the internet to sell fake, adulterated and unlicensed medicines to an unsuspecting public This can put lives at risk as well as undermining the pharmaceutical industry.”

Currently the Commission is analyzing the situation and working together with Member States, the European Medicines Agency and international partners to decide what further actions may be necessary to safeguard public health.