SAN DIEGO and WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. - Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(NASDAQ: ARNA) and Eisai Inc. announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Arena US Patent No. 9,169,213, entitled "Method of Weight Management," covering BELVIQ® (lorcaserin HCl) for chronic weight management, a press release by Arena Pharmaceuticals stated.

"This patent is based on the discovery that achieving 5% weight loss with BELVIQ by Week 12 is a strong predictor of responses in weight loss at Week 52 of treatment," said Harry F. Hixson, Jr., Arena's interim Chief Executive Officer. "We expect that this method-of-treatment patent will provide additional support for exclusivity in the US until 2032, further strengthening our intellectual property position for BELVIQ."

In addition to this method-of-treatment patent, composition-of-matter patents for BELVIQ are issued in major jurisdictions globally that, in most cases, are capable of continuing into 2023. Arena has filed applications for patent term extension on patents directed to composition of matter in the United States, which, if granted, would extend the composition-of-matter patent term for BELVIQ into 2026 or potentially 2027. In addition, the US Patent and Trademark Office previously granted Arena a method-of-treatment patent, US Patent No. 8,999,970, which describes a method for selecting appropriate patients based on renal function for BELVIQ and may extend exclusivity for BELVIQ in the US until 2033.

BELVIQ is a serotonin 2C receptor agonist indicated in the United States as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adults who have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obese), or BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) with at least one weight-related medical condition, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes. The safety and efficacy of coadministration of BELVIQ with other products intended for weight loss, including prescription drugs (e.g., phentermine), over-the-counter drugs, and herbal preparations, have not been established. The effect of BELVIQ on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has not been established.