Summary Box: FDA review deals blow to diet pill thought to offer safe way to shed pounds

Summary Box: FDA takes dim view of new diet drug

NOT SO SAFE: Federal health officials delivered a surprisingly negative review of an experimental weight loss drug from Arena Pharmaceuticals which was thought to offer a safer alternative to older drugs. Reviewers questioned the drug’s heart and psychiatric side effects.

THREE-WAY RACE: Arena’s lorcaserin is racing to be the first new prescription weight loss pill approved by the Food and Drug Administration in over a decade. Two competing drugs are made by Vivus Inc. and Orexigen Therapeutics.

MARKET REACTION: Shares of San Diego-based Arena plummeted on the FDA’s review. The company has no drugs on the market.