Orexigen Announces Korean Distributorship Agreement with Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical Company

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc.

today announced that wholly-owned subsidiary Orexigen Therapeutics Ireland Ltd. and Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. have executed a distributorship agreement for South Korea for Contrave® (naltrexone HCl / bupropion HCl extended release) monotherapy for weight management in overweight or obese adult patients. Under the terms of the agreement, Kwang Dong will be responsible for seeking regulatory approval and for all commercialization activity and expenses. Orexigen will supply Contrave tablets to Kwang Dong for a $7 million upfront payment, approximately 35 – 40% of net sales, potential sales-based milestone payments, and other fees. Kwang Dong expects to begin marketing Contrave in the second half of 2016, if regulatory approval is obtained. "Kwang Dong's established relationships with obesity societies and opinion leaders as well as their strong consumer marketing capabilities make them an ideal partner for Contrave in Korea," said Mike Narachi, CEO of Orexigen. "We look forward to working closely with them to obtain regulatory approval and have a successful commercial launch." Obesity and related comorbidities are a serious health problem in South Korea, where approximately 38% of men and 26% of women are obese according to recent statistics from the National Health Institute. In 2014, sales of anti-obesity prescription medicines exceeded $67 million in Korea.