[4] This is attributed to the bupropion component, as the FDA requires all antidepressants to include that boxed warning on medication package inserts.

[15] In 2009, Monash University physiologist Michael Cowley was awarded one of Australia's top research honors, the Commonwealth Science Minister's Prize for Life Scientist of the Year, in recognition of his elucidation of these pathways, which led to the development of the combination medication.

[18] Subsequently, on 2 February 2011, the FDA rejected the drug and it was decided that an extremely large-scale study of the long-term cardiovascular effects of Contrave would be needed, before approval could be considered.

[9] In December 2014, the EU's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) endorsed the combination for licensure as an obesity medication when used alongside diet and exercise.

[21] The company then initiated a second trial (CONVENE) designed to test this outcome in 2016, but it was terminated in 2016 shortly after Takeda announced that it would sell its rights to the drug in the USA to Orexigen.