Orexigen Execs Quit on Heels of Obesity Drug Data

A major management shakeup at Orexigen Therapeutics(OREX Quote) announced Friday comes weeks before the small drug company is set to release pivotal phase III data on an experimental obesity drug.

Shares of the San Diego-based drugmaker were down $3.10, or 57%, to $2.30 Friday after the company said three top executives, including CEO Gary Tollefson, would be leaving the company. Two drug development programs in midstage trials were also discontinued.

The unexpected shakeup comes as Orexigen gears up to release the first phase III data on its obesity drug Contrave. Results from a study of Contrave in patients with mild to moderate obesity are expected soon, perhaps in early January. ...