3 Pharmaceutical Companies Helping You Lose Weight in 2014

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of American adults are obese. In addition to that, CDC also says that about 17 percent of American children and teens are obese.

The CDC says that being obese puts people at risk of conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, and this data qualifies obesity as a national epidemic.

It is also noteworthy that obesity is the second-leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S., according to the CDC.

As a result, pharmaceutical companies that are able to provide solutions to this growing problem are worth watching. Here are three of such companies.

Related: What Are The Best-Selling Drugs Of 2014?

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. OREX

Orexigen pushed through the third FDA-approved weight loss drug over the last decade in September. The drug is marketed under the name Contrave. Contrave is a combination drug containing bupropion and naltrexon, which are already approved by the FDA.

Clinical trials show that subjects who took Contrave lost an average of five percent of their body weight. Because those trials seem to be more effective than competitor drug Belviq, which brought about only three percent loss of body weight in clinical trials, Contrave could perform better in the market.

Contrave is the only marketed drug that Orexigen has, so its immediate future could be dependent on how this drug performs in the market.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ARNA

Arena launched itself into the drug market in June 2012 when it got approval for Belviq, which is known with the generic name Lorcaserin. Belviq was the first new prescription diet pill cleared for sale in the U.S. in 13 years, according to Bloomberg.

Belviq is Arena’s only approved drug. However, information available on the company’s website shows that the company has four other drug candidates in the pipeline.

Arena partnered with Eisai Co., Ltd ESALY to market and distribute the drug in most territories worldwide. And Eisai, having boosted sales force for the drug, could make the drug successful in the market.

• VIVUS, Inc. VVUS

Vivus pushed through the second weight loss drug since 1999 after Belviq in of July 2012. The drug is marketed under the name Qsymia. Qsymia is a combination drug that contains already approved phentermine and topiramate.

Inferring from the drug’s clinical trials, Qsymia is more effective than both Contrave and Belviq, having reduced subjects’ body weight by an average of 9 percent. So it could potentially be more effective than Belviq and Contrave, except if its side effects are more than the ones noticed with Belviq and Contrave.

Stendra is the company’s only other drug that has been approved by the FDA.