Glaxo applies for OTC diet pill licence in Europe

LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Europe's biggest drugmaker, said on Tuesday it had applied for a licence to sell a non-prescription weight-loss pill in Europe.

GlaxoSmithKline said its application for a licence to sell the over-the-counter (OTC) medicine, known as Alli in the United States, had been accepted by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA).

Alli, the only non-prescription weight-loss remedy with U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, was launched in the United States in June and recorded sales of 76 million pounds ($156 million) in the second quarter.

"If people are looking for a quick fix, this is not it. But it is a powerful motivator, helping people lose up to 50 percent more weight than with diet alone," John Clarke, President GSK Consumer Healthcare, said in a statement.

Glaxo has highlighted the successful launch Alli as proof of the benefits of keeping its consumer health business, which some analysts have urged it to sell.

Alli is a half-dose version of Roche Holding AG's (ROG.VX) prescription medicine Xenical and works by reducing the amount of fat the body absorbs from food.

GSK bought the U.S. rights for an OTC version of Xenical in 2004 and bought the non-U.S. rights earlier this year.

Analysts' forecasts for annual peak sales of Alli range from around 250 million to 500 million pounds. That means it could be a bigger seller than Xenical, which had sales of 693 million Swiss francs ($576 million) last year