Weight loss is Eisai's gain.
Date of publication: July 2, 2010
The weight loss and obesity management market hit a high today with the news that Arena Pharmaceuticals have gained a new a supply and marketing agreement for lorcaserin with Eisai in the US.
This agreement will enable Eisai to establish a strong presence in the US for the medical management of obesity and weight loss.
Arena will receive an upfront payment of $50 million from Eisai and additional $90 million in milestone payments. Arena will sell lorcaserin to Eisai for a purchase price starting at 31.5% of Eisai’s annual net product sales which will increase on a tiered basis to as high as 36.5% on the portion of annual net product sales exceeding $750 million.
Arena is also eligible to receive $1.16 billion in one-time purchase price adjustment payments based on annual sales levels of lorcaserin and up to an additional $70 million in regulatory and development milestone payments. The total value of the transaction is $1.37 billion.
This deal represents a major milestone in the development of Arena Pharmaceuticals and lorcaserin and will pile the pressure on new weight loss medicines from Vivus Inc and Orexigen.
In addition, it is the latest announcement to be released in 2010 by Eisai and follows other recent licensing, co-promotion and marketing deals with Helsinn (chemotherapy sickness), Almirall (gastrointestinal agent) and Pfizer (Alzheimer’s disease).
Together these deals highlight the disparate therapy areas that Eisai is committed to and will enable Eisai to continue its drive towards improving patient quality of life.
Tim Martin
2 July, 2010