OREXIGEN(R) Therapeutics Receives Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Covering the Composition of Matter i... ( OREX-003 Being Developed as an Antip...)

OREXIGEN(R) Therapeutics Receives Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Covering the Composition of Matter in OREX-003

Date:7/29/2008

OREX-003 Being Developed as an Antipsychotic Agent with Less Potential for

Treatment-Associated Weight Gain and Metabolic Risks

SAN DIEGO, July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Orexigen(R) Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: OREX) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent application that would provide broad coverage for a pharmaceutical composition of zonisamide in combination with a series of marketed atypical antipsychotics. Orexigen is currently evaluating a combination product, OREX-003, for the treatment of schizophrenia that it hopes would minimize the potential for weight gain or other adverse metabolic consequences often observed in patients receiving atypical antipsychotic medications.

OREX-003 combines a proprietary sustained release formulation of zonisamide plus olanzapine (marketed as Zyprexa(R)). Preclinical studies conducted by Orexigen demonstrated that the addition of zonisamide prevented weight gain and elevated blood glucose associated with olanzapine alone. Zonisamide appears to reverse the olanzapine effects on appetite pathways in the brain as well as directly on peripheral fat cells, resulting in mitigation of weight gain and elevated blood sugar associated with olanzapine treatment. OZ-101, the Company's Phase II proof of concept trial for OREX-003, is scheduled to begin in the third quarter this year.

"This patent represents another successful milestone for Orexigen. If OREX-003 retains the proven efficacy profile of olanzapine while mitigating possible safety concerns, then it will address a significant public health challenge," said Orexigen President and CEO Gary Tollefson, M.D., Ph.D. "Research has indicated that th
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OREXIGEN(R) Therapeutics Receives Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Covering the Composition of Matter i...( OREX-003 Being Developed as an Antip...)