Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARNA): Nothing to See Here, No Huge Sales Yet

To increase weight loss, which should keep patients on the drug longer, Eisai and Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA)’s plan is to combine Belviq with phentermine, a generic obesity drug that was the phen part of the infamous fen-phen. Belviq works in the same way as fenfluramine, the fen part, but is designed not to hit the receptor that leads fenfluramine to cause heart valve problems.

Eisai plans to start a phase 2 trial with the combination drug near the end of the year or the beginning of next year. If the four-month trial is positive, it isn’t clear how much more data — especially safety data — the FDA would require Eisai and Arena to generate. My guess is that the FDA would want at least a year of data from patients on the combination product, which would put an expanded approval in 2016 at the very earliest.

For now, VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS), Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OREX), and Novo Nordisk A/S (ADR) (NYSE:NVO) don’t have too much to worry about.

The article Nothing to See Here, No Huge Sales Yet originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Brian Orelli.

Fool contributor Brian Orelli has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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