Orexigen Tanks After-Hours on Obesity Data

Obesity patients treated with a weight-loss pill from Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX Quote) lost an average of 20.3 pounds, or 9.3% of their body weight, over one year, according to results from a phase III study released Thursday.

Orexigen said the study of its weight-loss drug Contrave met all its pre-specified efficacy and safety goals. However, patients in the trial who took a sugar pill for one year lost an average of 11 pounds, or 5.1% of their body weight.

That puts the placebo-adjusted percentage of body weight lost by Contrave patients at 4.2% -- below the 5% weight-loss standard for approval mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for all experimental obesity drugs. ...