Arena Pharmaceuticals Announces R&D Leadership Transition

SAN DIEGO, June 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA) today announced changes to its research and development leadership team. Effective June 9, 2020, Dr. Preston Klassen will be leaving the Company to pursue an opportunity as Chief Executive Officer of a San Diego-based private company, and Dr. Chris Cabell, Arena's Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, will assume the role of Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development, and Chief Medical Officer.

"Chris has been leading the execution of our clinical development and operations for the last few years, and we are confident that his extensive experience and stellar judgement will continue to serve the Company well," said Amit D. Munshi, Arena's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to Chris' continued guidance and his broader leadership role within the excellent organization that he and Preston have established together."

Mr. Munshi added, "On behalf of myself, Arena's Board, leadership, and our entire team, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Preston for his instrumental contributions. During Preston's tenure he has played a critical role in the Company's success including the development of our R&D strategy, portfolio prioritization and expansion, and in maturing the organization. We thank Preston for his dedication and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."

Dr. Klassen is resigning after more than three years of service at Arena, and he will continue to serve as an advisor to the Company during a transition period following his resignation.

Chris Cabell, M.D., M.H.S., FACC, has served as Arena's Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer since August 2019. From October 2017 to July 2019, he served as Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Development. Over the past nearly 3 years, Dr. Cabell has been a member of the Arena senior leadership team and has been instrumental in helping to develop and shape the R&D organization which has seen a significant growth and maturity, from less than 40 team members to an organization of more than 225 experienced professionals. In addition, Dr. Cabell, as Chief Medical Officer, has been accountable for all Arena regulatory interactions and commitments over the past year. Prior to joining Arena, Dr. Cabell spent 10 years at IQVIA (formerly Quintiles, Inc. and QuintilesIMS) in a variety of executive positions including Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, and Global Head of Medical and Project Management, managing an international organization of over 1600 staff. Prior to joining IQVIA, Dr. Cabell was on faculty at Duke University, where he led efforts on multiple important collaborative consortia including the Cardiac Safety Research Consortium, a public/private partnership between academic medical centers, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Industry. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology with over 100 peer reviewed publications including in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Annals of Internal Medicine. Board certified in both internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases, Dr. Cabell is an honors graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and earned his Doctor of Medicine and Masters in Health Science degrees from Duke University.

About Arena Pharmaceuticals
ARENA Pharmaceuticals is a team with a singular purpose – deliver our important medicines to patients.

In a rapidly changing global market, we work with a sense of urgency every day to understand the needs of all our stakeholders, identify bold, sometimes disruptive, ideas to get our medicines to patients, and relentlessly execute until it's done.

ARENA - Care More. Act Differently.

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, without limitation, statements about Dr. Klassen's expected service as an advisor to Arena, Dr. Cabell's expected contributions, Arena's position, drive, portfolio, prioritization, financial position, team, and building of the company. 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 those 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.

Corporate Contact:          
Megan E. Knight
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Director, Investor Relations 
mknight@arenapharm.com
858.210.3635

Arena Media Contact: 
IR@arenapharm.com
858.453.7200

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SOURCE Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.