Arena Pharmaceuticals Announces Lorcaserin Phase 2b Clinical Trial Results Published ...( SAN DIEGO Dec. 8 /- Arena Pharmaceuti...),Health

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA) announced today publication of the Phase 2b clinical trial results of lorcaserin, its novel drug candidate for the treatment of obesity, in the December 4, 2008 issue of Obesity, the official peer reviewed journal of The Obesity Society. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients treated with lorcaserin, as compared to placebo, experienced statistically significant greater weight loss, with a significantly greater proportion of patients losing at least 5% of their weight over a 12-week period. Weight changes of this magnitude have been shown to improve cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and dyslipidemia, and to significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes in patients with glucose intolerance. Improvements in other endpoints were also achieved, including decreases in cholesterol and waist circumference. Lorcaserin was well tolerated in all dose groups.

"The weight loss results demonstrated by lorcaserin in the Phase 2b clinical trial, coupled with the compound's highly selective mechanism and good tolerability, provide reason for optimism for the millions of Americans struggling with the obesity epidemic," commented Steven R. Smith, M.D., principal investigator in the study and Assistant Director for Clinical Research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. "As a clinician faced with the challenge of helping a growing number of patients safely lose weight, I am acutely aware of the need for novel treatment options and I am hopeful that lorcaserin will prove successful at addressing that need."

"The data highlighted in this publication demonstrate lorcaserin's potential to become the first in a new class of weight management agents, thereby addressing an urgent need for new approa
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