VIVUS, Inc. (VVUS), Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARNA), Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (OREX): The Big Weight-Drug Wait

If Arena and VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) manage to achieve tremendous success and develop great patient and prescriber loyalty for their drugs, Contrave could face an uphill battle to gain a foothold. VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) recently introduced promotions that appear to be designed to attract and hold on to customers in anticipation of near-term competition from Belviq. With the earliest possible commercial launch of Contrave still over a year away, Orexigen’s late arrival could be a significant handicap.

On the other hand, others point to factors that they think will differentiate Contrave and allow it to achieve success despite the slower start. If the Light Study goes as well as supporters hope it will, Orexigen will have solid clinical data to back up the safety claims for Contrave. The company’s partnership with Takeda should also help tremendously with the commercial launch. Takeda has committed to call on more than 50,000 physicians assuming that Contrave gains approval. The larger company’s experience in the diabetes market should be another big plus.

Foolish take
I don’t doubt for a minute that Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OREX) executives would much prefer to enjoy the first-mover status held by VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS). And I suspect that they would gladly trade the frustration that Arena has experienced with waiting on DEA scheduling in exchange for hitting the market a year earlier. They don’t have those options, though, so they’re forced to play the hand that they have been dealt.

That hand isn’t all that bad in my view. Back in November, Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OREX) discussed a physician survey that it commissioned that found plenty of opportunity in the market for multiple obesity drugs. I suspect those findings were on target. I also think that the company’s partnership with Takeda will pay dividends. All this assumes, of course, that the Light Study goes well and the FDA ultimately approves Contrave. For now, we continue to wait.

The article The Big Weight-Drug Wait originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Keith Speights.

Fool contributor Keith Speights has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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