It's phen again

Vivus Inc. believes its Qnexa phentermine/topiramate will be a successful combination in obesity despite phentermine's history as half of fen-phen - the fenfluramine side of that combo was taken off the market due to a suspected association with heart valve problems. Investors seem to believe it too, as the company announced a $12 million private placement last week on the same day it reported positive Phase II data.

In the 24-week trial in 200 patients, Qnexa was well tolerated and met the primary endpoint of the proportion of patients losing at least 10% of body weight versus placebo, phentermine alone or topiramate alone. An intent-to-treat analysis showed that mean weight loss was 25.1 lbs for Qnexa versus 4.8 lbs for placebo, from a baseline of about 230 lbs (p<0.0001). ...