Zimulti (Rimonabant) is a new miraculous multifunctional diet pill:

produces sustained weight loss helps to quit smoking improves blood makers improves high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels

What is Zimulti?

Zimulti (Rimonabant) is the first in a new class of therapeutic agents called Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Blockers (CB1).

Zimulti is used in the treatment of obesity and related conditions.

How does Zimulti work?

Zimulti acts by selectively blocking CB1 receptors found in the brain and in peripheral organs important in glucose and lipid (or fat) metabolism, including adipose tissue, the liver, gastrointestinal tract and muscle1.

Zimulti switches off the same brain circuits that make people hungry when they smoke cannabis.

CB1 receptor blockade with Zimulti acts to decrease the overactivity of the endocannabinoid system (EC system)2,3. The EC system is a recently characterised physiological system that includes receptors such as the CB1 receptor and it has been shown to play an important role in regulating body weight and in controlling energy balance, as well as glucose and lipid (or fat) metabolism.

What is Zimulti used for?

Zimulti is used complementary to diet and exercise to treat obese or overweight patients who suffer from Type 2 diabetes and abnormal levels of fat in the blood.

Sanofi argues that Zimulti can also prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Patients with large waist circumference (102 cm in men and 88 cm in women) will mostly benefit from taking the drug.

Does Zimulti also aid smoking cessation?

Zimulti has been studied by sanofi-aventis as an aid to smoking cessation based on studies for up to one year in over 6,500 smokers motivated to quit smoking.

Sanofi-aventis submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA, which in turn issued a non approvable letter for Zimulti for use in smoking cessation. An approvable letter was however issued for Zimulti for use in weight management.

What are the side-effects of Zimulti?

Side effects in the trial on Zimulti in obesity were vomiting and nausea, forcing about 19 percent of patients to leave the trial versus 13 percent of those who took placebo.

What is the shelf life of the pills?

The expiry date is mentioned on each blister. It is different for different batches. The shelf life is 2 years from the date of manufacture and would differ from batch to batch depending on when they were manufactured.