they felt were excessive demands from the FDA

Good news for investors in Orexigen Therapeutics Inc is that the company has come up with new plans to continue testing its previously discarded weight loss medication Contrave after reaching an agreement with the American Food & Drug Administration.

Only a few months ago Orexigen Therapeutics Inc made a statement saying that they would not continue testing the medication Contrave because of what they felt were excessive demands from the FDA. However following recent talks and discussions the FDA has agreed on a new study which will involve 10,000 volunteers over two years and will specifically focus on medical information about possible cardiac side effects. If the testing goes according to plan Contrave could be on the market by 2014.

Contrave was previously thought to be the most likely drug to get FDA approval because it is made up of two existing medications, one of which is an antidepressant and the other of which is an anti addiction drug.  In previous clinical testing around 40 percent of patients lost a minimum of five percent of their overall body weight.

With so many millions of American people suffering from obesity the need for medications to help people to lose weight is growing. Any medication which could safely show big results for weight loss would immediately be a financial blockbuster for the company that developed it. On the news that Contrave is being subjected to new tests for the FDA the shares in Orexigen Therapeutics Inc rose by almost 2/3rds and should final approval be forthcoming the sky would be the limit!

Michael Narachi the boss of Orexigen Therapeutics Inc said that the new parameters set by the FDA were both reasonable and feasible and he was confident that the development of Contrave would now go ahead.

At present the only weight loss medication approved for sale in the United Kingdom is the drug Xenical made by Roche.