Six representatives of three Chinese pharmaceutical companies are being detained in Paris, France because the bulk medicine they exhibited at a major pharmaceutical tradeshow was suspected to become a black-market version of Acomplia (rimonabant), according to the China Business News.

The incident took place earlier this month at CPhI Worldwide 2006, which bills itself as "the annual meeting place for pharmaceutical professionals" where "innovations are discussed, and where business is created."

According to the Russian news agency Interfax, the Chinese were suspected of "infringing intellectual property rights" of Sanofi-Aventis, the Paris-based pharmaceutical company that developed and has begun marketing rimonabant.

The European Commission publicly issued a warning to consumers on March 27th that fake versions Acomplia were being sold over the internet, even though the drug at that time had not been approved for sale anywhere ans as a result was not being sold by Sanofi anywhere in the world..

The European Commission said Acomplia had 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.”