The controversial slimming drug Rimonabant will remain in the pharmaceutical market of the country as the Union health ministry is not contemplating any action against the drug which hit the headlines due to its severe psychiatric side effects.

Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr M Venkateshwarlu said that the health ministry is not contemplating any action against the controversial drug as the drug has approval from across the world. "Rimonabant will be in the market as it is approved everywhere in the world. Even in USA, the drug has not been rejected", Dr Venkateshwarlu said and added "every drug has its own risks and benefits. In most cases benefits outweigh the risks. For benefit we take some risks. It is the individual doctors to decide on the benefit of a drug". Besides, the drug carries a warning about its side effects, he added.

The slimming drug Rimonabant was in the news for some time now due to its side effects like depression. Recently, the UK's premier medical journal The Lancet had reported that four slimming drugs sold in the market put patients at risk of severe psychiatric side effects. The drug, known as Rimonabant, is branded and sold as Acomplia by its inventor Sanofi-aventis.

In India, the copycat versions of the drug are manufactured by Torrent Pharmaceuticals in the name of Remoslim, Zydus Cadila under the brand name of Slimona and Sun Pharmaceuticals under the brand names of Riocity and Riobec. With the changing lifestyle of the people of the country, especially the upper middle class and the elite class, the consumption of the slimming drug has been on the rise for some years as people are becoming more and more figure-conscious.

Following The Lancet report, the Sanofi-aventis had issued a statement. It said, "The company has learned about the content of meta-analyses published in The Lancet and the British Medical Journal on November 16, 2007. The clinical data resulting from these meta-analyses do not add any new information and are in line with the clinical trials on efficacy and safety known with rimonabant today".