INTERACTIVE: Arena SVP Audet on steady Belviq sales progress
This article was originally published in Scrip
Sales gains for the Arena Pharmaceuticals prescription weight loss drug Belviq (lorcaserin) have been slow since the product's launch in mid-2013 considering the millions of people who are considered overweight and obese in the US, but Belviq sales have increased by double digits from quarter to quarter.
Scrip spoke with Arena senior vice president of operations and head of global regulatory affairs Craig Audet after the San Diego-based company announced its second quarter earnings on 1 August. Dr Audet discussed the progress Arena and its commercial partner Eisai are making with Belviq in the US. He was pleased with the drug's "steady, consistent growth" in the second quarter, building on gains from previous quarters.
Awareness of the drug and its potential to help overweight and obese patients in combination with dietary changes and exercise are a key element of the companies' strategy, which is why Arena and other weight loss drug developers continue to insist that having several new prescription obesity therapies in the market is a good thing.
"If you're the lone person in the wilderness crying out, no one hears you," Dr Audet said. "There's tremendous room for growth. Market share's not a big issue, because it's not a crowded market."
Vivus's Qsymia (phentermine/topiramate) was approved in the US in 2012 and has struggled since its launch in September of that year. The Mountain View, California-based company, which is selling Qsymia in the US without a partner, reported $11m in second quarter sales on 7 August – almost double the $5.5m in Qsymia sales during the same period in 2013.
Another competitor for Belviq and Qsymia may enter the weight loss market later this year: the US FDA is expected to make an approval decision regarding NB32 (naltrexone/bupropion) from San Diego-based Orexigen Therapeutics by 11 September (scripintelligence.com, 11 June 2014).
Click on the bubbles in the illustration below for details on Belviq's second quarter performance and additional insights from Dr Audet.