The European Commission publicly issued a warning to consumers on March 27th that fake versions of the still unapproved weight-loss drug Acomplia (rimonabant) are being sold over the internet.

The eagerly awaited drug, which produced impressive weight-loss results in clinical trials, has not yet been approved for sale either by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

As a result, Acomplia's developer, French pharmaceutial 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, putting lives at risk as well as undermining the pharmaceutical industry.

"Patients who buy unlicensed and counterfeit or illicit copies of rimonabant may be putting their health at risk," the European Commission said.

“I am alarmed at the ever increasing number of counterfeit medicines sold via the internet," Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen said. "This represents a real danger to the health of patients. The Commission is working with European and international partners to do everything possible to ensure legal methods for marketing of medicines are respected and enforced.”

The Commission said it was currently analysing the situation and working together with Member States, the European Medicines Agency and international partners on what further actions may be necessary to safeguard public health.