Arrowhead Acquires Novartis’ RNAi Research and Development Portfolio
– Conference Call Today at 8:30 a.m. EST
PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR), a biopharmaceutical
company developing targeted RNAi therapeutics, today announced the
acquisition of Novartis’ entire RNAi research and development portfolio
and associated assets. The acquisition includes assignment of certain
patents and patent applications owned or controlled by Novartis related
to RNAi therapeutics, an exclusive license in the RNAi field to other
patents and patent applications owned or controlled by Novartis,
assignment of a third party license, three pre-clinical RNAi candidates,
and other related assets. The company is hosting a conference call at
8:30 a.m. EST to discuss the acquisition.
Key aspects of the acquisition include the following:
-
Multiple patent families covering RNAi-trigger design rules and
modifications that fall outside of key patents controlled by
competitors, which the Company believes provides freedom to operate
for any target and indication;
-
Novel intracellular targeting ligands that enhance the activity of
RNAi-triggers by targeting the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)
more effectively and improving stability once RISC is loaded;
-
An assignment of Novartis’ license from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
granting Arrowhead access to Alnylam intellectual property, excluding
delivery, for 30 gene targets chosen by Novartis;
-
A pipeline of three candidates initiated by Novartis and for which
Novartis has developed varying amounts of preclinical data.
“This is an important deal for us. Novartis has been working in the RNAi
field for over a decade and their developments in proprietary
oligonucleotide formatting and modifications are some of the best we’ve
seen. We anticipate this acquisition will provide us with substantially
expanded freedom to operate, proprietary technology that appears to
enhance the activity of RNAi triggers, access to non-delivery Alnylam
RNAi IP for 30 targets, and three programs that went through the
rigorous Novartis vetting process,” said Christopher Anzalone, Ph.D.,
president and chief executive officer of Arrowhead. “We now have
additional flexibility to optimize each new candidate using the most
effective RNAi-trigger design and modifications. We look forward to
incorporating these novel technologies into future drug candidates.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Arrowhead previously made a payment to
Novartis of $7 million in cash and will provide an additional payment of
$3 million in cash and $25 million in Arrowhead common stock within 30
days. Novartis is also eligible to receive milestones and single digit
royalties on sales of future products in connection with the agreement.
Conference Call and Webcast Details
To participate in the conference call, please dial 855-215-6159 (toll
free from the US) or 315-625-6887 (for international callers) and enter
Conference ID 98554265. Investors may also access a live audio webcast
of this conference call on the Company’s website at http://ir.arrowheadresearch.com/events.cfm.
A replay of the webcast will be available approximately two hours after
the conclusion of the call and will remain available for 90 days. An
audio replay will also be available approximately two hours after the
conclusion of the call and will be available for 7 days. The audio
replay can be accessed by dialing 855-859-2056 (toll free from the US),
or 404-537-3406 (for international callers) and entering Conference ID
98554265.
About Arrowhead Research Corporation
Arrowhead Research Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company developing
targeted RNAi therapeutics. The company is leveraging its proprietary
Dynamic Polyconjugate™ delivery platform to develop targeted drugs based
on the RNA interference mechanism that efficiently silences
disease-causing genes. Arrowhead’s pipeline includes ARC-520 for chronic
hepatitis B virus, ARC-AAT for liver disease associated with Alpha-1
antitrypsin deficiency, and partner-based programs in obesity and
oncology.
For more information please visit http://www.arrowheadresearch.com,
or follow us on Twitter @ArrowRes.
To be added to the Company’s email list and receive news directly,
please visit http://ir.arrowheadresearch.com/alerts.cfm.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act:
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon our
current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. Our actual
results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and
uncertainties, including our ability to finance our operations, the
future success of our scientific studies, our ability to successfully
develop drug candidates, the timing for starting and completing clinical
trials, actions of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and
similar global regulatory bodies, rapid technological change in our
markets, challenges to the validity of our intellectual property rights,
and the enforcement of our intellectual property rights. Arrowhead
Research Corporation’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q discuss some of the important
risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations and
financial condition. We assume no obligation to update or revise
forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances.
Source: Arrowhead Research Corporation
Arrowhead Research Corporation
Vince Anzalone, CFA,
626-304-3400
ir@arrowres.com
or
Investor
Relations:
The Trout Group
Todd James, 646-378-2926
ir@arrowres.com
or
Media:
Russo
Partners
Matt Middleman, M.D., 212-845-4272
matt.middleman@russopartnersllc.com
Source: Arrowhead Research Corporation
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