And so the FDA finally caught on to the clever name Sanofi-Aventis gave its controversial weight-loss pill. Known as Acomplia overseas, the agency insisted the drugmaker change the name for the US market, where approval has been delayed by requests for more data.

What might be wrong with Acomplia? Well, it does sound an awful lot like accomplishment, doesn’t it? That’s been obvious from the start. But in the overhyped and overheated field of obesity, anything that gives off a whiff of overpromising is not a good thing. Certainly not to FDA officials who are regularly flogged for failing to place more emphasis on safety concerns.

“It has been considered that Acomplia could be too descriptive or eventually misleading,” a disappointed Sanofi exec confessed in an earnings conference call this morning.

So what will Sanofi’s fat pill be called instead? Zimulti…Of all things.

This can’t be good for Sanofi. Zimulti sounds too much like something one eats for lunch or dinner, not a substitute for a Zeus-like warrior, which seems to be the basis for so many drug names (think Zoloft, Zithromax, Zocor and so forth).

Imagine the confusion: ‘Doctor, I need to lose some weight. Can you prescribe Zeppoli?’ Or pity the poor chap dining at Acappella in Manhattan who wants to impress: ‘Baby, you’re gonna love this dessert. Waiter, two Zimultis!’

This is just one more problem Sanofi has to swallow, having already lost a bid for the FDA to approve the drug for smoking cessation and ongoing concerns about side effects such as anxiety. Meanwhile, many countries are restricting reimbursement.

Zimulti - Is It a Pill or Is It a Snack? Talk about marketing challenges.

Hat tip to the Health Blog for the alert and to Pharma Marketing for speaking terrible Italian.
[tags]Acomplis, Obesity, Sanofi-Aventis, Zimulti[/tags]