J&J to develop Topamax as weight-loss drug

Johnson & Johnson has reported the results of a one-year study of itsanticonvulsant drug Topamax (topiramate) which suggest that the product has potential in the treatment of obesity. Topamax is already approved as a treatment for epilepsy, but is being evaluated for a range of additional indications, including weight-loss, migraine, neuropathic pain in diabetes and manic episodes in bipolar disease.

J&J told an analysts' meeting in California, USA, that Topamax treatment was associated with a reduction in weight of 11%-12% over the course of 12 months, adding that it "does not know of any other product doing that," according to Reuters. The potential revenues from an obesity indication for the drug would be huge, said the company, although it would not speculate on the timing of additional trials in this setting.