Last week, Arena Pharmaceuticals axed 130 employees in order to save $$ to advance its iffy weight loss drug, lorcaserin. We won’t go into the details of our original post or why we think the FDA will NEVER approve a weight loss drug, especially one that uses the nervous system as a target (Fen-phen and Interneuron fucked it up for everyone).

Anyway, David Washburn of voiceofsandiego.org posted an interview with Arena CEO Jack Lief in which Lief defended the axes and the further advancement of lorcaserin.

Here’s a few excerpts:

Q: Were you surprised with the (trial) results?

A: No. We hit all of the FDA’s efficacy points. I think we have a very effective drug. A very safe drug that is very approvable. I was surprised that investors didn’t understand what our message was in the press release. To have our stock trashed like that was the big surprise for me.

Q: Do have an explanation for it? Why did the analysts — why do you think Wall Street behaved the way it did?

A: Now that I have reflected on it. … I think the expectations were set incorrectly. I will take the blame for that. What we tried to do is tell investors what would be the best case. As it turns out, we were a little off. Having said that, we were really thrilled with the safety. … I think this drug could become the standard of care for weight management.

Q: Do you have confidence that you will find a partner for lorcaserin?

A: Oh sure. There are a lot of companies interested in lorcaserin. We have companies coming in to do due diligence next week … here you have an approvable drug that is safe. The average person who stayed on the drug lost 18 pounds. This is not a wimpy drug.

Not a wimpy drug, fine. The real question is whether it works or if it will get approved. Lilly, is that you doing due diligence this week? Is that why the stock has been up the last few days? OK, who are we kidding, it’s freakin Deerfield behind this company…ARNA won’t die anytime soon.

Thoughts?

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