Arena Pharmaceuticals Announces Upcoming Departure Of Chief Financial Officer

San Diego, CA /PRNewswire/ - Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA) announced today the resignation of Robert E. Hoffman, Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hoffman, who has accepted a new position in the healthcare industry, will remain in his current role at Arena until the reporting of the company's year-end results and the filing of the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.

"We thank Robert for his many years of valuable service and contribution to Arena and wish him the best in his future endeavors," said Jack Lief, Arena's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Robert has built a strong finance team at Arena, and we are focused on ensuring a smooth transition when he departs next month."

In the interim, Jennifer K. Bielasz, Senior Director of Accounting and Controller, and Carolyn M. Felzer, Senior Director of Finance, will continue to play key leadership roles in Arena's finance department. Ms. Bielasz joined Arena in 2001 and is responsible for managing all accounting, stock administration and tax compliance activities. Prior to joining Arena, she served as the controller of both public and private companies, including as Vice President and Controller of Guild Mortgage Company. Ms. Felzer joined Arena in 2006 and is responsible for public reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, 401(k) and other administrative functions. Prior to joining Arena, she served as Senior Director of Finance and Administration at Salmedix, Inc., until its acquisition by Cephalon, Inc., and as Corporate Secretary and Vice President and Controller at Corvas International, Inc., until its acquisition by Dendreon Corporation. Ms. Bielasz and Ms. Felzer both began their careers at KPMG LLP.

About Arena Pharmaceuticals
Arena is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing oral drugs that target G protein-coupled receptors, an important class of validated drug targets, in four major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, central nervous system, inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Arena's most advanced drug candidate, lorcaserin, is intended for weight management. Arena's wholly owned subsidiary, Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH, has granted Eisai Inc. exclusive rights to market and distribute lorcaserin in the United States following FDA approval of the New Drug Application (NDA) for lorcaserin.

Arena Pharmaceuticals(R) and Arena(R) are registered service marks of the company.

SOURCE Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.