Shareholder rights law firm Johnson & Weaver, LLP has commenced an investigation into whether certain officers and directors of Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) violated state or federal laws. Orexigen, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of pharmaceutical product candidates for the treatment of obesity.

Specifically, Johnson & Weaver’s investigation seeks to determine whether certain statements regarding Orexigen’s business were false and misleading when made.

On March 3, 2015, in connection with disclosing to investors the status of certain patent applications for Contrave, Orexigen released the interim results of its ongoing LIGHT study, despite being specifically admonished by the FDA for doing so in the past. As a result of Orexigen’s announcement, the price of its common stock skyrocketed from its February 27, 2015 close of $5.79 per share to trade as high as $9.37 per share in intraday trading on March 3, 2015, closing that day at $7.64 per share.

On March 5, 2015, Forbes issued a report quoting an FDA official charged with overseeing the Contrave post-market clinical trial program. The FDA official stated that the data from the interim study report was probably “unreliable,” “misleading,” and “likely false,” with the Forbes report warning that “[i]f Orexigen cannot find a way to set things right, it could face fines, civil penalties, or even the withdrawal of Contrave from the market.” On this news, shares of Orexigen closed down over 11% on March 6, 2015.

If you are an Orexigen shareholder and are interested in learning more about the investigation or your legal rights and remedies, please contact Jim Baker (jimb@johnsonandweaver.com) at 619-814-4471. If you email, please include your phone number.

Johnson & Weaver, LLP is a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm with offices in California, New York and Georgia. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.johnsonandweaver.com. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.