Le Fur refused to provide details, declined to say if the company would pursue the clinical trial and wouldn't say how long such a clinical trial would take. "We will meet with the FDA in the coming weeks," he said.

He and other executives continued to refer to the drug by its generic name, rimonabant, because Sanofi-Aventis hasn't received trademark clearance for the Acomplia brand name, Le Fur said. That will be one of the subjects to be discussed with the FDA, he said.

A second-half launch for Acomplia as a weight-management drug "is the most probable launch period we can estimate from today," added Hanspeter Spek, executive vice president for pharmaceutical operations. The company also plans to launch the drug in several European markets later this year, including Germany and the U.K.