Eisai Expands Marketing and Supply Agreement for Anti-obesity Agent Lorcaserin to Include Most Countries Worldwide

News provided by

Eisai Europe Limited

08 Nov, 2013, 00:01 GMT

HATFIELD, England, November 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Eisai announces today that it has expanded the marketing and supply agreement between its U.S. subsidiary Eisai Inc. and U.S-based Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Swiss subsidiary, Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH, for the anti-obesity agent lorcaserin hydrochloride (lorcaserin) (U.S. brand name: BELVIQ®). Whilst the existing agreement granted Eisai Inc. exclusive rights to market and distribute lorcaserin in 21 countries throughout the Americas, the expanded agreement now includes most countries and territories worldwide, most notably, the member states of the European Union, Japan and China (but excludes South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and Israel).

Under this agreement, Eisai will be working in collaboration with Arena to develop and seek marketing authorisation of lorcaserin as an anti-obesity treatment in its territories. In addition to pursuing regulatory approval for weight management in the expanded territories, Eisai and Arena plan to investigate the potential of lorcaserin in new areas, such as: smoking cessation, a once-daily formulation, a fixed-dose combination with phentermine, as well as explore lorcaserin's impact on diabetes and cardiovascular outcomes.

Lorcaserin is marketed in the U.S. by Eisai Inc., and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adult patients with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater, or 27 kg/m2 or greater in the presence of at least one weight-related co-morbid condition. Marketing authorization has also been applied for in Mexico and Canada.

In recent years, obesity has become a major global health problem, with more than 1.4 billion adults worldwide believed to be overweight and approximately 500 million of that number qualifying as obese.[1] By region, around 170 million people in the United States[2] and 150 million people in Europe are reported to be obese or overweight.[3] In Europe, it is estimated that 10-30% of adults are obese.[4]

Eisai is dedicated to discovering, developing and producing innovative therapies that can make a difference and impact the lives of patients and their families. This passion for people is part of Eisai's human health care (hhc) mission, which strives for better understanding of the needs of patients and their families to increase the benefits health care provides.

Notes to Editors

About BELVIQ® (lorcaserin hydrochloride)

Discovered and developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., lorcaserin is a new chemical entity that is believed to decrease food consumption and promote satiety in individuals by selectively activating serotonin 2C receptors in the brain. Lorcaserin was launched in the United States in June 2013 after receiving a final scheduling designation from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

About Eisai

Eisai is one of the world's leading research and development (R&D) based pharmaceutical companies, and we define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call human health care (hhc).

Eisai concentrates its R&D activities in three key areas:

  • Oncology including: anticancer therapies; tumour regression, tumour suppression, antibodies, etc.
  • Neuroscience, including: Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, pain and weight loss
  • Vascular/Immunological reaction including: thrombocytopenia, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease

With operations in the U.S., Asia, Europe and its domestic home market of Japan, Eisai employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. From its EMEA Knowledge Centre in Hatfield, UK, Eisai has recently expanded its business operations to include Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Oceania (EMEA). Eisai EMEA has sales and marketing operations in over 20 markets, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Russia and the Middle East.

For further information please visit our web site http://www.eisai.co.uk

About ArenaPharmaceuticals

Arena is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercialising novel drugs that target G protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs, to address unmet medical needs. Arena's US operations are located in San Diego, California, and its operations outside of the United States, including its commercial manufacturing facility, are located in Zofingen, Switzerland.

For more information, visit Arena's website at http://www.arenapharm.com

Arena Pharmaceuticals® and Arena® are registered service marks of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. BELVIQ® is a registered trademark of Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH.

1. World Health Organisation. Data and statistics for Obesity. World Health Organisation. Data and statistics for Europe. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/ [http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en ]. Last accessed 7 November 2013

2. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_319588.pdf. Last accessed 7 November 2013.

3. World Health Organisation. Data and statistics for Europe http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/98243/E89858.pdf. Last accessed 7 November 2013

4. World Health Organisation. Data and statistics for Europe. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/obesity/data-and-statistics. Last accessed 7 November 2013.

Date of preparation: November 2013        

Job code: Corporate-UK2020