Biotech, obesity, Lorcaserin

Arena Buys Back $55.8M in Stock

Luke Timmerman 10/30/08

San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals said today it is spending $55.8 million in cash to buy back all of its outstanding convertible stock. The company (NASDAQ: ARNA) expects to buy the shares on Nov. 13, it said in a statement. Arena, the developer of lorcaserin for obesity, now expects to finish the year with $115 million in cash and investments instead of the $160 million it had forecasted earlier. The company is also taking steps to cut spending on clinical and preclinical study fees, it said.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can e-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com, call 206-624-2374, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ldtimmerman.