Qnexa Diet Pill - Qnexa Obesity

The Market

The prevalence of obesity continues to be a health concern and affects a large and growing proportion of the population, including over 30% (more than 60 million) of Americans. Worldwide more than 300 million people are obese. Obesity directly contributes to numerous life-threatening conditions: diabetes,cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke. Presently there are a number of anti-obesity agents in clinical development.

The worldwide obesity therapeutic market is currently estimated to be approximately $1 billion. Analysts speculate that the potential market for obesity in the United States could approach $5 billion.

The Product

Qnexa™ is a proprietary therapeutic formulation and dosing regimen that incorporates the active ingredients from two previously approved products with demonstrated weight loss properties: phentermine and topiramate. By combining the activity of each of these compounds in a novel, once-daily, low-dose capsule formulation, Qnexa simultaneously addresses appetite and satiety, the two main mechanisms that impact eating behavior. As such, Qnexa appears to induce significantly greater weight loss than either individual compound. Further, clinical trials conducted with Qnexa have demonstrated superior efficacy and a significantly improved adverse event profile as compared to either active agent alone or other currently available therapeutic options.

Qnexa is a once a day proprietary and novel low dose formulation of immediate release phentermine and controlled release topiramate.

Phentermine has been available for treating obesity since the 1950s, and is still the most widely prescribed weight loss therapy. Topiramate was approved in 1996 for treating epilepsy, and more recently as a prophylactic for migraine. The rationale behind Qnexa is to expand topiramate’s therapeutic window by using a very low dose and combining it with phentermine, which acts via a different mechanism. Topiramate works via GABA and other agonist properties and increases satiety, while phentermine is noradrenergic and non-serotonergic, and reduces appetite.