San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA) announced that President and CEO Jack Lief has retired from the company and the board at the request of the board of directors.
Dr. Harry F. Hixson, a director of Arena since 2004, has been appointed to serve as interim CEO and interim principal financial officer.
Arena will immediately initiate a search for a new chief executive officer.
Arena also reported that it is conducting an ongoing evaluation of its programs and operations, and intends to provide details regarding its 2016 financial plan later this year.
Hixson most recently served as the chairman of the board of directors of Sequenom Inc., a genomics company, from January 2003 to March 2015, and as its CEO from September 2009 to June 2014.
Arena Pharma is the developer of Belivq an FDA-approved prescription weight-loss medication.
