Aetna bullish on Acomplia, not Byetta for obesity
Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:15 PM ET
By Kim Dixon
CLEVELAND, Oct. 12 (Reuters) - Aetna Inc.'s <AET.N> top pharmacist on Thursday said research on a highly anticipated drug for obesity called Acomplia is very encouraging -- a positive sign for drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA>.
"This is the drug we have all been waiting for," said the executive, Mark Rubino, of Acomplia, which has yet to win U.S. regulatory approval. He spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of a three-day obesity conference hosted by the Cleveland Clinic.
Rubino was less enthusiastic about the use of a recently launched diabetes drug from Eli Lilly and Co. <LLY.N> and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. <AMLN.O> for weight loss.
The drug, Byetta, has been shown to help diabetics shed extra pounds, and as a result, doctors have been prescribing it to non-diabetics as a weight loss treatment.
Rubino said that Aetna will continue to pay for Byetta for its approved use -- treating diabetes -- but was not likely to pay for the drug as a weight loss treatment.
"If you don't have diabetes, we won't cover it," he said.
Aetna will, however, pay for so-called off-label use of drugs if there is evidence from three peer reviewed medical journals supporting efficacy and safety, he said.
Aetna provides health insurance for 16 million people in the United States.
BULLISH ON ACOMPLIA
Before the insurer makes a decision about covering Acomplia, the drug still needs to go through an internal review process followed by health insurers when new products hit the market.
Acomplia has been approved for use in Britain, but the FDA in February issued the drug only conditional approval in the United States, asking Sanofi for more information.
Aetna-appointed experts will review safety and efficacy data and make a recommendation on the company's coverage policy for the drug.
Still, insurers rarely talk up products before they review them, casting Rubino's comments as a bullish sign for Acomplia.
Rubino said preliminary data on the drug was much stronger than that of approved obesity drugs already on the market.
"It looks great," he said.
In clinical trials, the drug has demonstrated not only an ability to help patients shed pounds and waist size, but it appears to reduce bloodstream fats known as triglycerides and to raise levels of the so-called "good" cholesterol HDL. It is also being studied as a smoking cessation treatment.
French drugmaker Sanofi has said it remains hopeful that it will be able to launch Acomplia in the United States by the end of 2006, although some analysts said a 2007 launch was looking more likely. (Additional reporting by Bill Berkrot in New York)
Aenta prefers Acomplia to fight Obesity 
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