Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced that Eisai Inc will market lorcaserin for obesity and weight management in the United States following US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval under the terms of a marketing and supply agreement between Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Eisai. Lorcaserin, which Arena discovered and has developed for weight management, is intended for obese patients as well as overweight patients who have at least one weight-related co-morbid condition.

As part of the marketing and supply agreement, Arena has granted Eisai exclusive US rights to commercialize lorcaserin. Arena will manufacture lorcaserin at its facility in Switzerland and sell finished product to Eisai for marketing and distribution in the United States.

"Through this agreement, we believe Eisai has an opportunity to bring a new option to market to address the significant and growing need for obesity treatments," said Lonnel Coats, president and chief executive officer of Eisai Inc. "Additionally, by building on our expertise and success in the primary care and specialty areas, with strong synergy in our gastrointestinal franchise, this arrangement for the marketing of lorcaserin will enable Eisai to establish a strong presence in the United States for the medical management of obesity."

Under the terms of the agreement, Arena will receive an upfront payment of US$ 50 million from Eisai and, upon regulatory approval and the delivery of product supply for launch, up to an additional US$ 90 million in milestone payments. Arena will sell lorcaserin to Eisai for a purchase price starting at 31.5 per cent of Eisai's annual net product sales, and the purchase price will increase on a tiered basis to as high as 36.5 per cent on the portion of annual net product sales exceeding US$ 750 million. Arena is also eligible to receive US$ 1.16 billion in one-time purchase price adjustment payments based on annual sales levels of lorcaserin and up to an additional US$ 70 million in regulatory and development milestone payments.

"Execution of this commercial agreement is a major milestone in our plans for lorcaserin," said Jack Lief, Arena's president and chief executive officer. "We believe in Eisai's human health care mission to satisfy unmet medical needs and increase benefits to patients and their families. With Eisai, we have the right company to market lorcaserin in the United States, the right type of agreement to optimize lorcaserin's medical and commercial potential and the shared recognition that it is the right time to enter into this agreement to prepare for launch following FDA approval."

Lorcaserin is a novel single agent that represents the first in a new class of selective serotonin 2C receptor agonists.

Eisai Co, Ltd is a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. Through a global network of research facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, Eisai actively participates in all aspects of the worldwide health care system.

Arena is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing oral drugs that target G protein-coupled receptors, an important class of validated drug targets, in four major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, central nervous system, inflammatory and metabolic diseases.