SAN DIEGO, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Arena
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) today announced that, at the
request of the Board of Directors, Jack
Lief, Arena's President and Chief Executive Officer, has
retired from the company, including its Board of Directors. Dr.
Harry F. Hixson, a director of Arena
since 2004, has been appointed to serve as interim Chief Executive
Officer and interim principal financial officer. Arena will
immediately initiate a search for a new chief executive
officer.
"I leave Arena proud of the accomplishments made by our
employees in advancing healthcare and science," said Mr. Lief. "I
look forward to watching the company transition through its next
phase of development."
"Jack has contributed in many ways since co-founding Arena in
1997, including overseeing the approval and commercial launch of
the company's internally discovered and developed drug BELVIQ, and
the development of a robust clinical stage pipeline and productive
research platform," said Dr. Hixson. "We thank Jack and wish him
great success in his future endeavors."
Arena also reported that it is conducting an ongoing evaluation
of its programs and operations, and intends to provide details
regarding its 2016 financial plan later this year.
Dr. Hixson served as the Chairman of the board of directors of
Sequenom, Inc., a genomics company, from January 2003 to March
2015, and as its Chief Executive Officer from September 2009 to June
2014. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of
BrainCells Inc., a drug discovery and development company, from
2004 to 2005, as Chief Executive Officer of Elitra Pharmaceuticals
Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from 1998 to 2003, and in
various management positions with Amgen Inc., a biopharmaceutical
company, from 1985 to 1991, most recently as President and Chief
Operating Officer. Dr. Hixson holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering
from Purdue University, an M.B.A. from
the University of Chicago and a Ph.D.
in Physical Biochemistry from Purdue University.
About Arena Pharmaceuticals
Arena embraces the challenge of improving health by seeking to
bring innovative medicines targeting G protein-coupled receptors to
patients. Arena's focus is discovering, developing and
commercializing drugs to address unmet medical needs, and BELVIQ®
(lorcaserin HCl) is Arena's first internally discovered drug
approved for marketing. Arena's US operations are located
in San Diego, California, and
its operations outside of the United
States, including its commercial manufacturing facility, are
located in Zofingen, Switzerland.
For more information, visit Arena's website
at www.arenapharm.com.
Arena Pharmaceuticals® and Arena® are
registered service marks of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
BELVIQ® is a registered trademark of Arena
Pharmaceuticals GmbH.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such
forward-looking statements include statements about searching for a
new chief executive officer; Arena's evaluating its programs and
operations; Arena's financial plan; embracing the challenge of
improving health; seeking to bring innovative medicines to
patients; and Arena's focus, plans, goals, strategy, expectations,
research and development programs, and ability to discover and
develop compounds and commercialize drugs. For such statements,
Arena claims the protection of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results may differ materially
from Arena's expectations. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, the following: the timing and decisions
relating to identifying a new chief executive officer, the ongoing
evaluation of Arena's programs and operations, and Arena's 2016
financial plan, are uncertain; risks related to commercializing
drugs, including regulatory, manufacturing, supply and marketing
issues and the availability and use of BELVIQ or lorcaserin; cash
and revenues generated from BELVIQ, including the impact of
competition; the risk that Arena's revenues are based in part on
estimates, judgment and accounting policies, and incorrect
estimates or disagreement regarding estimates or accounting
policies may result in changes to Arena's guidance or previously
reported results; the timing and outcome of regulatory review is
uncertain, and lorcaserin may not be approved for marketing in
combination with another drug, for another indication or using a
different formulation or in any other territory for any indication;
regulatory decisions in one territory may impact other regulatory
decisions and Arena's business prospects; government and commercial
reimbursement and pricing decisions; risks related to relying on
collaborative arrangements; the timing and receipt of payments and
fees, if any, from collaborators; the entry into or modification or
termination of collaborative arrangements; unexpected or
unfavorable new data; nonclinical and clinical data is voluminous
and detailed, and regulatory agencies may interpret or weigh the
importance of data differently and reach different conclusions than
Arena or others, request additional information, have additional
recommendations or change their guidance or requirements before or
after approval; data and other information related to any of
Arena's research and development may not meet regulatory
requirements or otherwise be sufficient for (or Arena or a
collaborator may not pursue) further research and development,
regulatory review or approval or continued marketing; Arena's and
third parties' intellectual property rights; the timing, success
and cost of Arena's research and development and related strategy
and decisions; results of clinical trials and other studies are
subject to different interpretations and may not be predictive of
future results; clinical trials and other studies may not proceed
at the time or in the manner expected or at all; having adequate
funds; and satisfactory resolution of litigation or other
disagreements with others. Additional factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by
Arena's forward-looking statements are disclosed in Arena's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking
statements represent Arena's judgment as of the time of this
release. Arena disclaims any intent or obligation to update these
forward-looking statements, other than as may be required under
applicable law.
Contact: Arena
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Craig M. Audet, Ph.D., Senior Vice President,
Operations & Head of Global Regulatory Affairs
caudet@arenapharm.com
858.453.7200, ext. 1612
www.arenapharm.com
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SOURCE Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.