Company type | Subsidiary of Pfizer |
---|---|
Industry | Biotechnology |
Founded | 1997 |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Jack Lief, co-founder Dominic Behan, co-founder and senior scientist Amit Munshi, CEO Kevin Lind, CFO |
Products | Belviq |
Revenue | US$27,600,000 (FY 2012) [1] |
US$−57,000,000 (FY 2012) [1] | |
US$−85,500,000 (FY 2012) [1] | |
Total assets | US$261,000,000 (FY 2012) [2] |
Total equity | US$98,600,000 (FY 2012) [2] |
Website | www |
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company founded in 1997 and headquartered in San Diego, California. [3] The company has small molecule drugs in development for possible clinical utility in multiple therapeutic areas. The company's most advanced investigational clinical programs are ralinepag (formerly APD811) in testing for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), etrasimod (formerly APD334) in evaluation for inflammatory indications and APD371 for the treatment of pain associated with Crohn's disease. [4] In 2016, the company downsized and shifted its focus to developing new drugs currently being tested in clinical trials. [5] [6] In December 2021, Pfizer announced that it had agreed to acquire Arena for $6.7 billion in cash. [7] [8] In March 2022, it was announced the acquisition by Pfizer had been concluded. [9]
Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company founded in 1997 and headquartered in San Diego, California. Arena focused on discovering drugs that act on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The company developed technology it called Constitutively Activated Receptor Technology (CART) that identified drug leads targeting GPCRs and other classes of receptors. CART was used to identify drug leads able to act as receptor inhibitors to decrease a biological response or act as receptor activators to increase a biological response. [10]
The company has one drug on the market, Belviq (lorcaserin), a weight-loss medication. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lorcaserin on June 27, 2012. The company committed to a sales force commitment of 200. [11] Lorcaserin is approved for use in adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, which is considered obese, or adults with a BMI of 27 or greater and who have at least one weight-related health condition, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol. However, sales of Belviq were disappointing. In 2015, the company laid off 80 workers; this was followed in July 2016 by the layoff of another 100 employees (approximately 73% of remaining workforce). [5] In January 2017, Arena announced that it is selling Belviq to its Japanese partner, Eisai Co. Ltd., which will manufacture and market the drug; Arena will draw a royalty on global sales. [12]
The sale completes a pivot in emphasis toward drugs still under development. Drugs in the company's pipeline includes medications designed to treat pain, ulcerative colitis and pulmonary arterial hypertension. As of September 2014 [update] , potential products that had not yet been approved by the FDA included Temanogrel (thrombotic diseases), Ralinepag (pulmonary arterial hypertension), APD334 (autoimmune disease), APD371 (pain), and Nelotanserin. [13]
In 2018, Arena's etrasimod, a drug directed at treating ulcerative colitis (and a competitor with ozanimod from Celgene [14] ), passed phase II clinical trials successfully and moved on to phase III. [15]
Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of certain symptoms in secondary Raynaud's phenomenon. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in females. It can be taken orally, intravenously, or through the sublingual route. Onset when taken orally is typically within twenty minutes and lasts for about two hours.
Tadalafil, sold under the brand name Cialis among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is taken by mouth. Onset is typically within half an hour and the duration is up to 36 hours.
An anorectic or anorexic is a drug which reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. These substances work by affecting the central nervous system or certain neurotransmitters to create a feeling of fullness or reduce the desire to eat. The understanding of anorexiant effects is crucial in the development of interventions for weight management, eating disorders, and related health concerns. The anorexiant effect can be induced through diverse mechanisms, ranging from hormonal regulation to neural signaling. Ghrelin, leptin, and peptide YY are among the hormones involved in appetite control. Additionally, neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine in the central nervous system contribute significantly to the regulation of food intake.
Pulmonary hypertension is a condition of increased blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fainting, tiredness, chest pain, swelling of the legs, and a fast heartbeat. The condition may make it difficult to exercise. Onset is typically gradual. According to the definition at the 6th World Symposium of Pulmonary Hypertension in 2018, a patient is deemed to have pulmonary hypertension if the pulmonary mean arterial pressure is greater than 20mmHg at rest, revised down from a purely arbitrary 25mmHg, and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) greater than 3 Wood units.
Icos Corporation was an American biotechnology company and the largest biotechnology company in the U.S. state of Washington, before it was sold to Eli Lilly and Company in 2007. It was founded in 1989 by David Blech, Isaac Blech, Robert Nowinski, and George Rathmann, a pioneer in the industry and chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Amgen. Icos focused on the development of drugs to treat inflammatory disorders. During its 17-year history, the company conducted clinical trials of twelve drugs, three of which reached the last phase of clinical trials. Icos also manufactured antibodies for other biotechnology companies.
Sitaxentan sodium (TBC-11251) is a medication for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). It was marketed as Thelin by Encysive Pharmaceuticals until Pfizer purchased Encysive in February 2008. In 2010, Pfizer voluntarily removed sitaxentan from the market due to concerns about liver toxicity.
Celgene Corporation is a pharmaceutical company that makes cancer and immunology drugs. Its major product is Revlimid (lenalidomide), which is used in the treatment of multiple myeloma, and also in certain anemias. The company is incorporated in Delaware, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, and a subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS).
Iloprost, sold under the brand name Ventavis among others, is a medication used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), scleroderma, Raynaud's phenomenon, frostbite, and other conditions in which the blood vessels are constricted and blood cannot flow to the tissues. Iloprost is a prostacyclin mimetic.
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company founded in 1992. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and led by CEO Kevin Gorman. Neurocrine develops treatments for neurological and endocrine-related diseases and disorders. In 2017, the company's drug valbenazine (Ingrezza) was approved in the US to treat adults with tardive dyskinesia (TD).
Semaxanib is a tyrosine-kinase inhibitor drug designed by SUGEN as a cancer therapeutic. It is an experimental stage drug, not licensed for use on human patients outside clinical trials. Semaxanib is a potent and selective synthetic inhibitor of the Flk-1/KDR vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor tyrosine kinase. It targets the VEGF pathway, and both in vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated antiangiogenic potential.
Ambrisentan, sold under the brand name Letairis among others, is a drug used for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. It is an endothelin receptor antagonist.
Lorcaserin, marketed under the brand name Belviq, was a weight-loss drug developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals. It reduces appetite by activating a type of serotonin receptor known as the 5-HT2C receptor in a region of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is known to control appetite. It was approved in 2012, and in 2020, it was removed from the market in the United States due to an increased risk of cancer detected in users of Belviq.
Tofacitinib, sold under the brand Xeljanz among others, is a medication used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. It is a janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, discovered and developed by the National Institutes of Health and Pfizer.
Actelion is a pharmaceuticals and biotechnology company established in December 1997, headquartered in Allschwil near Basel, Switzerland.
Macitentan, sold under the brand name Opsumit, is an endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) developed by Actelion and approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The other two ERAs marketed as of 2014 are bosentan and ambrisentan. Macitentan is a dual ERA, meaning that it acts as an antagonist of two endothelin (ET) receptor subtypes, ETA and ETB. However, macitentan has a 50-fold increased selectivity for the ETA subtype compared to the ETB subtype. The drug received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 13 October 2013.
Selexipag, sold under the brand name Uptravi, is a medication developed by Actelion for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Selexipag and its active metabolite, ACT-333679, are agonists of the prostacyclin receptor, which leads to vasodilation in the pulmonary circulation. It is taken by mouth or administered intravenously.
Acceleron Pharma, Inc. is an American clinical stage biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a broad focus on developing medicines that regulate the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) superfamily of proteins, which play fundamental roles in the growth and repair of cells and tissues such as red blood cells, muscle, bone, and blood vessels.
Ozanimod, sold under the brand name Zeposia, is an immunomodulatory medication for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis. It acts as a sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) agonist, sequestering lymphocytes to peripheral lymphoid organs and away from their sites of chronic inflammation.
Olorinab (APD371) is a drug being developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of gastrointestinal pain associated with Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. It acts as a potent and selective cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonist and is claimed to be orally active and peripherally selective. Initial Phase IIa exploratory clinical trials have been successful in patients with quiescent Crohn's disease. Arena initiated the Phase IIb Captivate trial in late July 2019 in patients with irritable bowel syndrome related pain, in constipation and diarrhea predominant sub-types. The Phase IIb trial is expected to enroll 240 participants between the ages of 18 and 70.Three doses of 10 mg, 25 mg, and 50 mg are being tested against Placebo in a 3:4 prescription ratio with a Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor) masking layout.
Etrasimod, sold under the brand name Velsipity, is a medication that is used for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. It is a selective sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator that modifies the activity of the immune system. It is taken by mouth.