Roll out the next drug for weight-loss

Contrave, a new pill by Orexigen Therapeutics which combines naltrexone and bupropion (wellbutrin), will be coming soon to a pharmacy near you.

Bupropion is a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor that is used for the treatment of depression and smoking cessation, while naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that is approved for alcohol and opioid dependence.The combination of these two drugs is supposed to target hunger, fullness, and reward centers in the brain that control the balance of food intake and energy expenditure.

In one study after 56 weeks, results showed that patients in the medication treatment group lost 9.3% of their body weight, compared with a loss of 5.1% in the placebo patients. Both groups had to follow healthy dietary and lifestyle patterns.

The discontinuation rate due to adverse events was 26% in the medication treatment group, compared with 13% in the placebo group. The most frequent side effect was nausea (34% in the medication treatment group vs. 11% in the placebo group), headache (24% vs. 18%), and constipation (24% vs. 14%).