SAN DIEGO, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Phillip M. Schneider and Randall E. Woods were appointed to its board of directors. Mr. Schneider and Mr. Woods are Arena’s seventh and eighth independent directors and bring significant financial and biotechnology industry operations and management experience to Arena’s board of directors. Arena’s board also appointed Mr. Schneider to its Audit Committee and Mr. Woods to its Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.
Mr. Schneider is the former Chief Financial Officer of IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation. During his 15-year tenure at IDEC, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, playing an integral role in the company’s growth. Prior to his association with IDEC, Mr. Schneider held various management positions at Syntex Pharmaceuticals Corporation and was previously with KPMG, LLP. Mr. Schneider is a member of the board of directors of Gen-Probe, Inc. and TargeGen, Inc. Mr. Schneider holds an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis.
Mr. Woods is the President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Sequel Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Woods was also President and Chief Executive Officer of NovaCardia prior to its acquisition by Merck & Co. Previously, Mr. Woods served approximately eight years as the Chief Executive Officer of Corvas International, Inc. He was also President of Boehringer Mannheim’s US pharmaceutical operations and spent approximately 20 years at Eli Lilly & Company in sales and marketing positions. Mr. Woods currently serves as the chairman for the advisory board of the University of California, San Diego’s Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center and is the incoming chair of the board of directors of BIOCOM, a Southern California life science industry association. Mr. Woods holds an M.B.A. from Western Michigan University and a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from Ball State University.
“With their broad and extensive industry experience, we are very fortunate to have both Mr. Schneider and Mr. Woods as members of our board of directors,” stated Jack Lief, Arena’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We welcome their leadership and look forward to continuing to apply the entire board’s expertise to best support Arena’s efforts to build stockholder value as it matures and moves closer to the expected filing of its first NDA.”
About Arena Pharmaceuticals
Arena is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing oral drugs in four major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, central nervous system, inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Arena’s most advanced drug candidate, lorcaserin, is being investigated in a Phase 3 clinical trial program for the treatment of obesity. Arena’s broad pipeline of novel compounds targeting G protein-coupled receptors, an important class of validated drug targets, includes compounds being evaluated independently and with its partners, Merck & Co., Inc. and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Arena Pharmaceuticals(R) and Arena(R) are registered service marks of the company. “APD” is an abbreviation for Arena Pharmaceuticals Development.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include statements about Arena’s strategy, development, preclinical and internal and partnered clinical programs, ability to develop compounds and commercialize drugs and about building value and filing an NDA. For such statements, Arena claims the protection of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results may differ materially from Arena’s expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, Arena’s planned clinical trials may not proceed at the time Arena expects or at all, the results of preclinical studies or clinical trials may not be predictive of future results, Arena’s ability to partner lorcaserin, APD125, APD791 or other of its compounds or programs, the timing, success and cost of Arena’s research, out-licensing endeavors and clinical trials, Arena’s ability to obtain additional financing, Arena’s ability to obtain and defend its patents, and the timing and receipt of payments and fees, if any, from Arena’s collaborators. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by Arena’s forward-looking statements are disclosed in Arena’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements represent Arena’s judgment as of the time of this release. Arena disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as may be required under applicable law.
CONTACT: Jack Lief, President and CEO, or David Walsey, Director,
Corporate Communications, both of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
+1-858-453-7200, ext. 1682; or Media Relations, Mary Claire Duch of
WeissComm Partners, +1-212-301-7228, for Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Web site: http://www.arenapharm.com/
