On September 11, 2007, Sepracor signed a marketing deal with British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline for the rights to sell eszopiclone (under the name Lunivia rather than Lunesta) in Europe. Sepracor was expected to receive approximately $155 million if the deal went through. In 2008 Sepracor submitted an application to the EMA (the European Unions equivalent to the U.S. FDA) for authorization to market the drug in the EU, and initially received a favorable response. However, Sepracor withdrew its authorization application in 2009 after the EMA stated it would not be granting eszopiclone new active substance status, as it was essentially pharmacologically and therapeutically too similar to zopiclone to be considered a new patentable product. Since the patent on zopiclone has expired, this ruling would have allowed rival companies to also legally produce cheaper generic versions of eszopiclone for the European market. , Sepracor has not resubmitted its authorization application and eszopiclone is not available in Europe. The deal with GSK fell through, and GSK instead launched a $3.3 billion deal to market Actelions almorexant sleeping tablet, which entered phase 3 medical trials before development was abandoned due to side effects.