SAN DIEGO (AP) — Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. said yesterday it has sent regulators more information about its experimental drug lorcaserin to treat obesity.
Arena and its partner Eisai Inc. said they sent the Food and Drug Administration new data taken from late-stage clinical trials that involved patients with type 2 diabetes. The companies also submitted additional data from studies that evaluated the link between lorcaserin and cancer in rats, and data on the drug's abuse potential. Arena and Eisai said they expect the FDA to accept the submission later this month, and set a date for a new decision on lorcaserin.
The FDA refused to approve the drug in October 2010 because there was limited evidence that it works, and because concerns about tumors when the drug was tested on rats. Arena does not have any products on the market and lorcaserin was seen as a potential big-seller before the FDA rejected it.
Shares of Arena rose 5 cents, or 2.7 percent, to close at $1.92.