Contrave

What is Contrave?

Contrave is an experimental weight loss drug developed by Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. for the treatment of obesity.

This new prescription weight loss product is a fixed-dose combination of two well-established drugs, Bupropion and Naltrexone.
Bupropion is an antidepressant and smoking cessation medication; Naltrexone is a treatment for alcohol and opioid addiction.

Orexigen believes that Bupropion helps initiate weight loss while Naltrexone may sustain weight loss by preventing the body’s natural tendency to counteract efforts to lose weight.

“This is the first drug, which I know of, that addressed the craving issue,” said Dr. Dennis Kim, senior vice president of medical affairs and communications at Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., one of the drug’s manufacturers.

Three Phase III clinical trials showed that roughly 50 percent of the patients in the 56-week trials reported weight losses of at least 5 percent and that the mean weight loss was around 8 percent.
Contrave also reduced other risk factors like waist circumference.
For diabetes patients, the drug diminished blood sugar levels.

Because of Contrave results in gradual weight loss, it doesn’t encourage quick, unhealthy amounts of weight loss.

Contrave is currently being studied in four Phase III clinical trials.

Pending positive results, Orexigen Therapeutics Inc plans to submit a New Drug Application for Contrave with the FDA in the first half of 2010.

What are Contrave side effects?

Trials showed that the common side effects were nausea, constipation and headache.
The most serious side effects included a gallbladder infection and seizure, which affected two patients each. One patient reported heart palpitations, while another experienced poor circulation in the limbs and one had vertigo.