Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Arena Pharmaceuticals Spins Off Longboard Pharmaceuticals With $56M Funding

San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals announced this morning that it has launched a new company, Longboard Pharmaceuticals, with $56M in funding. According to Areana, the newly launched company will focus on investigational therapies for rare neurological diseases. The new funding comes from Farallon Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Highside Capital Management, and T. Rowe Price Associates, with participation from Arena Pharmaceuticals. The newly launched company--which was formerly being run as a subsidiary of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Arena Neuroscience, will be led by President and CEO Kevin R. Lind. Arena Pharmaceuticals said that proceeds from the financing will be used to support the development of LP352, a clinical stage program for treatment-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE), and preclinical programs relating to LP143 and LP659 for the potential treatment of microglial neuroinflammatory diseases.