Arena Pharmaceuticals received new patent approval from US Patent and Trademark Office for a drug.
Arena Pharmaceuticals is one of the leading biopharmaceutical companies in the market. It has played an integral role in the development of medications as well as commercializing them. Its main business was to meet the unmet medical needs. Lorcaserin is the company’s core business that, after the approval by Federal Drug Administration (FDA), started to sell it under the brand name of Belviq, which is considered as one of the best medications. It can be said that the company’s business revolves around Belviq.
Reportedly, Arena Pharmaceuticals has noticed a sudden rise in its stocks. It is believed that the reason of the rising stocks is the new patent approval for this best medication. Nasdaq.com reports, “Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eisai, Inc. announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a new patent (U.S. Patent No. 8,999,970) for their obesity drug, Belviq. The patent covers the method of selecting appropriate patients based on renal function. Arena Pharma’s shares were up 3.9% on the news.”
Belviq is a specially developed obesity drug. The new patent approval is expected to extend the expiration date of the product to 2033. The CEO of the company, Jack Lief, says, “Seeking strong intellectual property protection has always been a key component of Arena’s business model. We expect this new patent to extend exclusivity for BELVIQ until 2033.” Some sources report that when Arena Pharmaceuticals and Eisai Inc. announced about the approval news, the shares of the company were up by 5.5%.
This has further boosted company’s morale to perform better in the market. The approval was received by the US Patent and Trademark Office, which give exclusive rights over this obesity drug to the organization. The medication helps in weight loss treatment. The company says, “Belviq decreases food consumption by selectively activating serotonin 2C receptors in the brain, though the exact mechanism of action is not known.” This means that no other pharmaceutical company will have the rights or any authority to develop similar drug until the newly approved patent expires in 2013.
The company first started to sell the drug in 2013 and its new patent extends its expiration date to 20 more years now. Furthermore, both aforementioned companies are evaluating it for further indications. So far, it is said that the obesity drug, combined with phentermine, is being evaluated for weight management, as well as smoking cessation. Hence, this might also boost its sales in the longer run.
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