Orexigen Therapeutics Ireland Ltd. and Biologix FZCO have made amendments to the commercialization and distribution agreement for Contrave in the Middle East, which will now include Egypt.

The agreement now encompasses 11 countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"We are pleased that Orexigen continues to place its trust in us as its partner in the Middle East and North Africa," Biologix CEO Selim Ghorayeb said.

Biologix will represent Orexigen for registration of local products and will handle the commercialization of the drug in all countries in the agreement, with Orexigen supplying Contrave to Biologix for a transfer price. Regulatory applications have been placed in Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with availability expected in early 2018.

"With the addition of Egypt, we have successfully entered into partnerships covering 45 countries to support the worldwide commercialization of Contrave, and we are committed to leveraging our alliances management capabilities to help combat the global rise of obesity rates," Thomas Cannell,  Orexigen's president of Global Commercial Products, said.