A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group, Dose-Ranging Study to Investigate the Safety and Efficacy of JNJ-28431754 in Nondiabetic Overweight and Obese Subjects

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide. Obesity and being overweight are major risk factors for chronic cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and stroke, and certain types of cancers. JNJ-28431754 is being investigated in this study for its possible effectiveness in promoting weight loss when taken over a 12-week period. The study consists of 3 phases: a pretreatment phase that includes a 7-day screening period and a 4-week run-in period, a 12-week double-blind treatment phase (neither the patient nor the investigator will know which treatment the patient is receiving) with an end-of-treatment visit, and a posttreatment phase. In the pretreatment phase, after giving written informed consent, patients will undergo screening evaluations. Patients who successfully complete the screening period will enter the 4-week run-in period and be given dietary and exercise counseling as standardized non-drug therapy for weight loss. During the 12 weeks of treatment, all patients will continue on the study diet and exercise non-drug therapy and will visit the study site about every 3 weeks to have their weight and the results of other safety and effectiveness tests recorded, and to have blood samples collected to measure the concentration of JNJ-28431754 in their blood. In the posttreatment phase, patients will return to the study site for a follow-up visit 14 days after receiving their last dose of study drug. Patient safety will be monitored throughout the study using spontaneous adverse event reporting, clinical laboratory tests (hematology, serum chemistry, urinalysis); pregnancy tests; physical examinations; electrocardiograms; vital signs measurements; overnight urine collection to measure albumin excretion; assessment of calcium and phosphate homeostasis (balance), bone formation and reabsorption markers, and hormones regulating calcium and phosphorus homeostasis; and self administered vaginal and urine sample collection for fungal and bacterial culture in subjects with symptoms consistent with vulvovaginal candidiasis and urinary tract infection. Patients will complete 2 questionnaires to record their reactions to taking the study drug and the effect of body weight on their daily lives. About 100 patients of the approximately 400 who qualify for the study, and who consent to this, will take part in 2 oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs). During the OGTTs they will drink a glucose solution and have a series of blood samples collected to measure glucose concentration, collect their urine over a 2 hour period, and (at the second OGTT only) have blood samples collected to measure JNJ 28431754 blood concentrations. The primary clinical theory for this study is that at well-tolerated doses, JNJ-28431754 is superior to placebo as measured by the percent change in body weight from baseline (Day 1 of the double-blind treatment period) through Week 12.