Arena Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company involved in the development of oral drugs that target what are called “G protein-coupled receptors”, receptors that are able to sense molecules outside of the cell and trigger various cellular responses. It’s an important class of validated drug targets, and Arena is focused on four major associated therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, central nervous system, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases.
Well into the FDA approval process, Arena’s most advanced drug candidate is called lorcaserin, intended for weight management, including weight loss and maintenance in patients who are considered obese. Lorcasein is believed to act as a selective receptor antagonist for serotonin 2C, a receptor expressed in the brain, including the hypothalmus – an area thought to affect appetite and metabolism. Arena already has patents covering lorcaserin in the U.S. and elsewhere. The weight control market is, of course, vast with roughly 1/3 of the U.S. adult population defined as obese by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In such cases, even a weight loss of 5%-10% from baseline can represent a meaningful reduction in cardiovascular risk and type 2 diabetes.
In addition to lorcaserin, the company is focused on:
• APD811, an internally discovered, orally available agonist of the prostacyclin receptor intended for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension
• APD334, an internally discovered, orally available agonist of the S1P1 receptor intended for the treatment of a number of conditions related to autoimmune diseases
• Research programs on cannabinoid receptor 2 agonists, intended for the treatment of osteoarthritis and pain, and GPR119 agonists intended for the treatment of type 2 diabetes
For additional information, visit the company’s website at www.ArenaPharm.com
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