Contrave: Anti-obesity drug for overweight and obese adults

June 6, 2023
​iNova Pharmaceuticals recently introduced Contrave (naltrexone HCI/bupropion HCI), a new combination anti-obesity medication which is indicated for adults with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obese) or 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) with at least one obesity-related complication such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. It is used as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Contrave is specially designed to help individuals with obesity to lose weight and keep it off by reducing food intake.

Obesity
The World Health Organisation defines obesity as the accumulation of excessive levels of fat in the body which affects health. This issue has grown into an epidemic proportion with over 4 million people dying each year based on the global burden of disease in 2017. According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, one in two Malaysian adults are either overweight (30.4%) or obese (19.7%). This survey also revealed that the trend is increasing over the past decade.

“The escalating number of individuals who are overweight and obese is alarming. Obesity does not just affect the patient, but has a significant and far-reaching impact on the community and society – healthcare costs will no doubt increase, productivity will suffer, and those affected may have a poor quality of life. This is a major public health issue that requires urgent action to be taken,” said Professor Dr Norlaila Mustafa, Professor of Medicine and Consultant Endocrinologist.

Lifestyle changes
Unhealthy lifestyles remain the key cause of obesity. Consequently, adopting healthy lifestyle changes such as eating a healthy diet, increasing physical activity, reducing alcohol intake, quitting smoking, and managing stress levels can help in reducing weight.

Contrave combines two medications – naltrexone HCI and bupropion HCI – which target two areas of the brain that play a role in weight regulation. These areas are the hypothalamus, and the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward system.

The efficacy of Contrave was examined in several double-blind, placebo-controlled obesity Phase 3 trials which demonstrated an 8.1% weight loss and weight maintenance through to 56 weeks. These studies also demonstrated that treatment with Contrave was generally well tolerated.

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