As Pfizer’s rheumatoid arthritis pill and Arena Pharmaceuticals’ weight-loss drug got positive nods from federal advisory panels, the role of biotech companies in finding new treatments for major medical disorders is getting renewed investor attention. An advisory group at the Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of Pfizer’s drug, known as tofacitinib, which could possibly revive sales after the company’s blockbuster cholesterol drug, Lipitor, lost its patent last year. And another FDA advisory panel’s positive recommendation on Arena’s diet drug, lorcaserin, could possibly end up getting approved by the agency, which would be the first new prescription diet pill that would be marketed in 13 years. In February, another obesity drug, Qnexa, developed by Vivus, was also endorsed by the same FDA panel.
