In 2008, this product was available in 56 countries. However, the American FDA never actually approved it, even though makers of Rimonabant claimed it was pending approval. It should be noted that the makers of Rimonabant are also responsible for highly successful prescriptions like Ambien and Allegra. However, Rimonabant did not pass the test. This is a good thing, considering many countries have since decided that the potential costs actually outweigh the benefits and have subsequently banned Rimonabant from sale. Sanofi-Aventis has since suspended the making of Rimonabant, but they held out for an extended period of time, and some have accused them of actually holding back negative study results, including severe depression in many cases in one study and at least one suicide. Previously named side effects included frequent and severe cases of depression, development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, dependence, impairment of short term memory, etc.