Contrave (300 mg Wellbutrin plus 50 mg naltrexone) causes weight loss of 6.6 percent in six months

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Friday, March 30, 2007 2:36 am Email this article
Among patients who completed the six month study, those given Contrave, a drug combination of Wellbutrin (bupropion) and naltrexone, lost an average of 6.8 percent of their body weight in six months compared to 3.8 percent for those given Wellbutrin (bupropion) alone, 2.2 percent for for those given naltrexone alone, and 1 percent for patients given a placebo according a paper by Frank Greenway and George Bray (2007). (The placebo group was discontinued after four months.) Weight Loss

Weight Loss for all patients: 4% after four months, 5.2% after six months

Among all patients treated, including those who dropped out of the study early, the average weight loss was 4 percent after four months, and 5.2 percent after six months.

 

Note

Note: These numbers slight different

Some of the percentages were taken from the paper by Greenway and Bray, while other percentages were taken from the company’s website.

 

Proof of Concept

This study was to prove the concept of this drug combination

The study was a proof of concept study according to Greenway and Bray, which means it was intented to prove that this combination causes more weight loss than either drug alone.

 

Naltrexone

Naltrexone alone does not cause much weight loss

Naltrexone is a drug “used to help people who have a narcotic or alcohol addiction stay drug free.”

Greenway and Bray point out that naltrexone alone does not cause much weight loss.

 

Doses

Doses: 300 mg of Wellbutrin plus 50 mg of naltrexone

The doses used in this study were 300 mg of Wellbutrin (bupropion) plus 50 mg of immediate-release naltrexone.

 

Side Effects

Side Effects: 40% reported nausea

Forty percent (40 percent) of patients reported nausea which was due to the naltrexone.

 

Dropouts

Dropouts: 12% due to nausea

Approximately one-out-of-eight patients (12 percent) dropped out of the study due to nausea.

 

Subjects

Subjects: 200 people

The study involved 200 people.

 

Company Info

Contrave being developed by Orexigen Therapeutics

Contrave is being developed as a weight loss drug by a company in San Diego, California called Orexigen Therapeutics, the same company that is developing Excalia, which is a combination of Wellbutrin (bupropion) and Zonegran (zonisamide).

REFERENCE

Greenway F, Bray G. Obesity medications: Where are we headed? Obesity Management. 2006 Oct, 2(5):181-85.

Contact Information of Orexigen Therapeutics

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc.
12481 High Bluff Drive, Suite 160
San Diego, CA 92130

858-436-8600 phone
858-436-8650 fax
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Data on Orexigen’s Clincal Trials

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Contrave (Wellbutrin (bupropion) plus naltrexone)

• Naltrexone

• Wellbutrin (bupropion)