Earlier today Orexigen Therapeutics disclosed positive results from a clinical trial of Contrave, its weight loss pill (a combination of naltrexone and bupropion) that it markets with Takeda. (You can read a good summary of the findings by Adam Feuerstein on TheStreet.)
The surprising thing about the Orexigen disclosure, which was contained in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC, is that it consisted of data derived from an interim analysis of the company’s ongoing Light trial. Normally, interim results are performed by an independent data monitoring committee and the results are known only to the members of the DMC. Occasionally, when important regulatory issues are at stake, the FDA may also be involved. But the detailed results of the analysis are never made public until the trial is stopped.
In this case neither the DMC nor the trial Executive Committee, headed by the Cleveland Clinic’s Steve Nissen, knew about or approved the release of the data. Here’s a statement Nissen sent me:
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Click here to read the full post on Forbes.
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