UPDATE: Arena Says Eisai Will Double BELVIQ Sales Force to 400 Reps

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

today reported that Eisai Inc. will increase its BELVIQ^® sales force to approximately 400 representatives by December 2013, doubling the size of the sales force from when BELVIQ became available in June 2013. The expansion of the sales force, which has commenced and follows increases in coverage of BELVIQ by health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) since the launch, will enable Eisai to reach approximately 65,000 physicians in the United States, including primary care providers, endocrinologists, cardiovascular specialists and gastrointestinal specialists. BELVIQ is now covered by several prominent health plans and PBMs, including, among others, Express Scripts (including its legacy Express Scripts and Medco operations), Tufts, Health Alliance Plan, Excellus BCBS, Highmark BCBS, BCBS of Michigan, BCBS of North Carolina and Healthnet (California), according to BusinessOne Technologies, Inc. While the exact coverage for BELVIQ varies by patient, this improved access means more patients will receive coverage support from their health plan or PBM. "Eisai launched BELVIQ with a focus on educating an initial group of physicians, expanding reimbursement coverage, introducing patient support programs and increasing patient awareness," said Jack Lief, Arena's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We have seen increasing physician interest in BELVIQ as an important treatment option for chronic weight management, the payor landscape has improved and we are encouraged by the early response to the patient support programs and recently launched patient campaign. Eisai's efforts have led to month over month increases in BELVIQ prescriptions to date, and we expect that the expansion of the BELVIQ sales force will help communicate the safety and efficacy of BELVIQ to an increased number of physicians." Lonnel Coats, Eisai Inc.'s President and Chief Executive Officer, added, "Eisai is deeply committed to launching innovative therapies with strong support from the payor community. The expansion of our sales force demonstrates the success we have gained in discussing the potential value of BELVIQ in chronic weight management within the payor community, and the subsequent agreements we have reached with many of our payor partners. We are in very active and productive discussions with other major payors and fully expect the reimbursement landscape will further improve as we head into 2014." Eisai is responsible for the marketing and distribution of BELVIQ in the United States under its agreement with Arena.