Orexigen to Post Obesity Data in Race With Vivus, Arena

Orexigen Therapeutics(OREX Quote) is expected to release the first phase III data on its experimental weight-loss drug Contrave ahead of a key investor presentation Monday.

The new Contrave weight-loss data come from one of four phase III studies being conducted by Orexigen this year. The company is one of three relatively small drugmakers -- Vivus(VVUS Quote) and Arena Pharmaceuticals(ARNA Quote) are the other two -- in a race to develop the next generation of obesity drugs.

In December, Vivus announced results from a phase III study of its weight loss drug Qnexa. Arena is expected to have data from its obesity drug later this year.

Orexigen has not given an exact date for the release of the Contrave phase III data other than to say an announcement will be made before the company gives an presentation to investors Monday morning at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

Contrave consists of two currently approved drugs combined together to suppress appetite and fight food cravings. One of the drugs in Contrave is naltrexone, currently used to fight opioid and alcohol addiction; the other drug is the antidepressant bupropion.

In a previously reported phase II study of Contrave, patients taking the drug lost between 6% and 7% of their body weight over 48 weeks, adjusted for placebo.

In the phase III study to be reported later this week, approximately 800 patients were treated for one year with either Contrave or a placebo. Both groups of patients were also asked to go on strict diets and offered intensive behavioral modification therapy to boost their weight loss.