Did the odds just get worse for Arena’s new weight drug?

After the FDA panel vote against Vivus's obesity drug Qnexa, analysts tracking the wave of new weight drugs headed to the agency have been hyper-sensitive about anything that could highlight concerns about the safety of the experimental treatments. So when the agency scheduled an in-depth review of Abbott's Meridia right ahead of Arena's (ARNA) lorcaserin--just as it tackled Avandia risks right ahead of the Qnexa session--it didn't take long for fresh fright to take hold. "The Meridia...

Orexigen weight-loss drug shows positive results in study

Results from COR-I, one of the Phase III trials supporting the NDA for Orexigen Therapeutics' (NASDAQ: OREX) weight-loss drug Contrave, show that patients taking the drug were two to three times more likely to lose at least 5 or 10 percent of their body weight compared with those taking placebo. The study results have been published online in the journal Lancet.   Treatment with Contrave also resulted in significant improvements versus...

Arena shares surge on new round of promising lorcaserin data

With the spotlight squarely on Vivus today as a federal panel gets ready for a crucial vote that could well seal the fate of the obesity drug Qnexa, one of the biotechs it's racing for an approval proffered a fresh set of efficacy data on a competing therapy. San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals says that just about half of the patients taking its drug lorcaserin in a two-year trial lost at least five percent of their body weight. And that's about twice the rate of weight loss registered in...

Arena lands $1.3B weight drug pact with Eisai

With an FDA panel review looming in the fall, Arena Pharmaceuticals has finally hammered out a U.S. licensing pact for its weight drug lorcaserin with Japan's Eisai, and the big payoff is slated to arrive after a potential approval. Arena's stock price (ARNA) surged 20 percent on the news this morning, giving investors a chance to register their satisfaction with the numbers, which arrive late in the development game. The complex deal package includes $50 million up front, up to $160 million in...