Arena Pharmaceuticals
| Company type | Public (formerly) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Biopharmaceuticals |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California , United States |
Area served | Global |
| Products | Belviq (lorcaserin), ralinepag, etrasimod, APD371 |
Number of employees | Approximately 73% reduction by 2016 (exact number not specified) |
| Parent | Pfizer (since March 2022) |
| Website | arenapharm |
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical firm from the United States, established in 1997 and headquartered in San Diego, California. The company focuses on the development of small molecule therapeutics across various medical fields. Its key clinical candidates include ralinepag (previously APD811) for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), etrasimod (formerly APD334) targeting inflammatory disorders, and APD371 aimed at pain management related to Crohn's disease. In 2016, Arena restructured its operations to concentrate its pipeline on these clinical-stage drug candidates. In December 2021, Pfizer announced plans to acquire Arena for $6.7 billion in cash, with the transaction finalized in March 2022.
History
Founded in 1997 and located in San Diego, California, Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. specialized in the discovery of compounds modulating G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The company developed the Constitutively Activated Receptor Technology (CART) platform to identify molecules functioning as receptor modulators, either as inhibitors or activators.
- In January 2000, Arena entered a partnership with Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to validate up to thirteen drug targets.
- By April 2000, a collaboration was established with Eli Lilly and Company focusing on research in endocrine and central nervous system areas.
- In May 2000, Arena commenced a research alliance with Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. concentrating on selected GPCRs relevant to therapeutic interests.
Products
Arena’s main marketed product was Belviq (lorcaserin), a weight management medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 27, 2012. Lorcaserin was indicated for adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher or those with a BMI of 27 or above accompanied by weight-related health issues such as hypertension or type 2 diabetes. Despite regulatory approval, Belviq's commercial performance was below expectations, leading to workforce reductions—first cutting 80 positions in 2015 and then an additional 100 employees in July 2016, amounting to roughly 73% of the staff. In January 2017, Arena divested Belviq to its Japanese collaborator Eisai Co. Ltd., which now handles manufacturing and marketing; Arena continues to receive royalty payments from worldwide sales.
This sale represented a strategic pivot toward advancing drug candidates addressing pain, ulcerative colitis, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. By September 2014, the company’s development pipeline featured Temanogrel (for thrombotic conditions), Ralinepag (for pulmonary arterial hypertension), APD334 (for autoimmune diseases), APD371 (pain management), and Nelotanserin.
In 2018, Arena progressed its ulcerative colitis candidate etrasimod—positioned against Celgene’s ozanimod—successfully completing phase II trials and moving into phase III studies.