The European Medicines Agency has announced that Sanofi-Aventis’ Acomplia weight loss drug can double the risk of depression and could also possibly lead to suicide.
The European Medicines Agency has recommended that people taking anti-depressants or suffering major depression should not take Acomplia.
Sanofi-Aventis’s Acomplia is prescribed to adults for the treatment of obesity.
The safety issues had also been included in the medicine’s product information as a warning to General practitioners.
Now, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European agency has recommended upgrading this warning.
The CHMP also recommends that Acomplia should not be prescribed to patients with major depression. Also, the drug should be stopped if a patient develops depression.
Doctors will be sent a letter to inform them about the updated prescribing information.