With lead obesity drug Contrave (Bupropion SR/Naltrexone SR) undergoing four Phase III trials and a second obesity drug, Emphatic (Bupropion SR/ Zonisamide SR), moving through Phase II, Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, padded its balance sheet with a $77 million public stock offering. The company offered 7 million shares priced at $11 each, plus an additional 1.05 million shares to cover any overallotments. The offering price represents a slight discount to the Jan. 23 closing price of $11.41, and Orexigen's shares (NASDAQ:OREX) slipped 54 cents, or 4.7 percent, to close at $10.87 on Jan. 24. "Had we seen the overall macro environment in the markets, we might have postponed [the deal] a little," noted Orexigen President and CEO Gary Tollefson. But the money raised will allow the company to reach important milestones including the completion of the Contrave Phase III program, the initiation of an additional Phase II trial with Empatic and the initiation of Phase U trials with two new compounds, he said. Tollefson added that the new funding puts Orexigen in a strong position to negotiate with potential partners for its programs. Most advanced is Contrave, which combines long-acting versions of naltrexone, an opioid blocker approved for opioid and alcohol addiction, and bupropion, a dopamine stimulator approved for depression and smoking cessation. That combination allows Orexigen to 'target some core issues in obesity," Tollefson said. Contrave is being studied in four Phase III trials, and data from the first trial are expected in December. The remaining trials should produce results in the first half of 2009, supporting a new drug application filing by the end of 2009.
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