(Newswire.net — September 13, 2014) — Contrave was developed by Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., based in La Jolla, California. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it is approved for use by people who have a body mass index of 30 or higher, which is considered to be obese, and for people with a BMI of 27 or higher who also have a weight-related medical condition such as diabetes.
However, the drug is not without possible health risks.
The weight loss medication is a cocktail of two drugs, naltrexone, which is used in the treatment of alcohol or narcotic addiction, and bupropion, an antidepressant also prescribed to people who want to quit smoking.
The FDA said the drug is approved for treatment of individuals who are considered to be clinically obese.
However, because the pill contains an antidepressant, the FDA said Contrave would carry a warning about the “risk of suicidal thoughts” when taking the medication.
But the potential health risks do not end there. Users of Contrave may also experience seizures, increased blood pressure and accelerated heart rates.
Adult obesity rates increased in six US states and fell in none last year, and in more states than ever — 20 — at least 30 percent of adults are obese, according to an analysis released on Thursday.
The conclusions were reported by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and were based on federal government data.
The highest prevalence of obesity was in the South (30.2 percent) and the Midwest (30.1 percent) followed by the Northeast (26.5 percent) and the West (24.9 percent), the CDC said.
The WHO consider obesity a growing epidemic and we all know there is no easy way to loose weight, so Contrave just might be that “magic” pill.
Although no word has been given on how much Contrave will cost, market experts predict the new drug will surpass sales of two other prescription weight-loss medication, Vivus Inc’s Qsymia and Arena’s Belviq, approved in 2012 that fell far short of sales expectations.
Contrave will be distributed in the United States by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, a Japanese company, which will give Orexigen royalties on sales, AP reported.
The weight-loss medication is expected to be available to consumers this fall.