Arena Pharmaceuticals Could Sell 12.5 Million Shares; Company Has 47.4 Million Shares Outstanding

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., a development stage drug maker, said it made a filing with regulators that gives it the ability to sell up to 12.5 million common shares.

The company had 47.4 million shares outstanding as of Aug. 29, according to a shelf registration, filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing said the shares are worth about $148 million.

Arena said proceeds from the sale would be used for clinical and preclinical development in its pipeline of drug candidates. The company is in late-stage clinical trials on its obesity treatment candidate, lorcaserin hydrochloride. It is also developing a treatment for insomnia.

Arena has partnered with Merck & Co. Inc. to develop MK-0354, a possible artherosclerosis treatment, and with Johnson & Johnson unit, Ortho-McNeil Inc., for a Type-2 diabetes treatment.

The company's shares on Friday were recently down 29 cents to $11.98 in Nasdaq trading.