SAN DIEGO, Feb. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Arena
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) today announced the
appointment of three new members to the company's Board of
Directors. Jayson Dallas,
M.D., Oliver Fetzer, Ph.D., and
Garry A. Neil, M.D. have joined as
independent directors. The new directors are all
international business executives with significant drug development
and commercial expertise. In addition, current directors
Harry F. Hixson, Jr., Ph.D. and
Donald D. Belcher will be retiring
from the Board at the annual meeting.
"I would like to thank Dr. Hixson and Mr. Belcher for their
years of service and welcome our new directors to the team," said
Tina S. Nova, Ph.D., Chair of the
Board. "We believe the new members will provide experience that
supports our clinical refocus as we progress our pipeline
programs."
Dr. Dallas has successfully overseen multiple product launches
and has led numerous commercial organizations through periods of
rapid growth over the course of his more than 20 years in the
pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Dallas currently serves as the Chief
Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President of Ultragenyx
Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel
products for rare and ultra-rare diseases. Prior to Ultragenyx, Dr.
Dallas served as General Manager of Roche UK. Prior to this, he
held senior positions at Genentech, Novartis, Pharmacia and Roche.
Dr. Dallas earned his medical degree from the University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South
Africa and an MBA from Ashridge Business School in the
United Kingdom.
Dr. Fetzer has extensive experience in successful clinical
development, deal transactions and biopharmaceuticals leadership
over his more than 20 years in the industry. He is currently the
Chief Executive Officer at Synthetic Genomics, a global leader in
the field of synthetic biology and synthetic genomics. Dr. Fetzer
previously served as the Chief Executive Officer at Cerulean Pharma
and in a variety of senior management positions at Cubist
Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Fetzer began his career and assumed various
positions of increasing responsibility at the Boston Consulting
Group (BCG). He serves on the board of Tecan Group AG. Dr. Fetzer
received a B.S. in Biochemistry from the College of Charleston, his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical
Sciences from the Medical University of South
Carolina, and an MBA from Carnegie
Mellon University.
Dr. Neil has over two decades of biopharmaceutical experience
with an emphasis on drug development and regulatory strategy. Dr.
Neil currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Aevi Genomic
Medicine, a biotechnology company focused on genomic medicine.
Previously, he held a number of senior positions in the
pharmaceutical industry, academia and venture capital, including
positions at Johnson & Johnson, Merck KGaA/EMD Pharmaceuticals,
AstraZeneca and Astra Merck. He is
the Founding Chairman of the pharmaceutical industry R&D
consortium, TransCelerate Biopharma, and remains on its board. He
also serves on the boards of Reagan Udall Foundation and GTx
Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Neil holds a B.S. from the University of Saskatchewan and an M.D. from the
University of Saskatchewan College of
Medicine. He completed postdoctoral clinical training in internal
medicine and gastroenterology at the University of Toronto and completed a postdoctoral
research fellowship at the Research Institute of Scripps
Clinic.
"Each individual joining our Board brings to Arena drug
development expertise with specific areas of experience in clinical
and regulatory strategy, commercial planning, and corporate
development," added Amit Munshi,
President and CEO of Arena. "The addition of the new Board members
continues our transformation of Arena as we focus on bringing
forward our proprietary pipeline of what we believe are first- or
best-in-class Phase 2 compounds."
About Arena Pharmaceuticals
Arena Pharmaceuticals is a
biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel, small
molecule drugs across a range of therapeutic areas. Arena is
focused on three primary proprietary investigational clinical
programs: etrasimod (APD334) in Phase 2 evaluation for ulcerative
colitis and initiating Phase 2 for additional indications, APD371
entering Phase 2 evaluation for the treatment of pain associated
with Crohn's disease, and ralinepag (APD811) in Phase 2 evaluation
for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). In addition, Arena has
collaborations with the following pharmaceutical companies: Eisai
Co., Ltd. and Eisai Inc. (commercial stage), Axovant Sciences
(Phase 2 candidate), and Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH
(preclinical candidate).
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 the significance and participation of the new
board members; and Arena's focus, primary programs and
collaborations. 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 those 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.
Kevin R. Lind, Chief Financial
Officer
klind@arenapharm.com
858.210.3636
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SOURCE Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.