Orexigen(R) Therapeutics Announces In-Licensing of Key Patents to Further Strengthen its Intellectual Property Estate for C...( SAN DIEGO June 11 /- Orexigen(R) Ther...),Health

SAN DIEGO, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Orexigen(R) Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: OREX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of obesity, today announced the licensing of certain intellectual property (IP) from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) that expands the Company's IP position underlying Contrave, its lead product candidate for the treatment of obesity.

"This license agreement with GSK complements the IP foundation of Contrave, providing us with additional product formulation options as we pursue regulatory approval and potential commercialization of Contrave," said Michael Narachi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Orexigen Therapeutics.

In exchange for undisclosed upfront and future milestone payments, Orexigen secured non-exclusive rights to certain formulation patents related to bupropion, one of the constituents of Contrave. The transaction is not expected to materially impact the Company's financial position. Top line results of the first of four Phase 3 clinical trials for Contrave, NB-302, were announced January 2009. Results from the three other Phase 3 clinical trials (NB-301, NB-303, NB-304) are expected to be announced in the third quarter of 2009. Pending positive results, the Company is on track to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) with the FDA in the first half of 2010.

About Orexigen(R) Therapeutics

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of obesity. The Company's lead combination product candidates targeted for obesity are Contrave(R), which is in Phase 3 clinical trials, and Empatic(TM), which is in the later stages of Phase 2 clinical development. Each product candidate is designed to act on a specific group of neurons in the central nervous system with the goal of achieving appetite suppression and sustai
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