Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Announces $30 Million Milestone Payment from GSK

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR) today announced that it earned a $30 million milestone payment from GSK (LSE/NYSE: GSK) following the start of GSK’s Phase 2b trial of GSK4532990, formerly called ARO-HSD, an investigational RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic for the treatment of patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

GSK4532990 is being developed under the November 2021 exclusive license agreement between Arrowhead and GSK. GSK received an exclusive license to develop and commercialize GSK4532990 in all territories except Greater China, which was retained by Arrowhead. GSK is wholly responsible for further clinical development and commercialization, outside of Greater China.

GSK4532990 targets HSD17B13, a member of the hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase family involved in the metabolism of hormones, fatty acids, and bile acids. Published human genetic data indicate that a loss of function mutation in HSD17B13 provides strong protection against alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and NASH, with approximately 30-50% risk reduction compared to non-carriers.¹

The double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b HORIZON trial (NCT05583344) will evaluate the efficacy and safety of GSK4532990 in adults with pre-cirrhotic NASH. It will enroll up to 246 participants.

About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals develops medicines that treat intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. Using a broad portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery, Arrowhead therapies trigger the RNA interference mechanism to induce rapid, deep, and durable knockdown of target genes. RNA interference, or RNAi, is a mechanism present in living cells that inhibits the expression of a specific gene, thereby affecting the production of a specific protein. Arrowhead’s RNAi-based therapeutics leverage this natural pathway of gene silencing.

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This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements contained in this release except for historical information may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “hope,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “could,” “estimate,” “continue,” “target,” “forecast” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, trends in our business, expectations for our product pipeline or product candidates, including anticipated regulatory submissions and clinical program results, prospects, or benefits of our collaborations with other companies, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the initiation, timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and our research and development programs; our expectations regarding the potential benefits of the partnership, licensing and/or collaboration arrangements and other strategic arrangements and transactions we have entered into or may enter into in the future; our beliefs and expectations regarding milestone, royalty or other payments that could be due to or from third parties under existing agreements; and our estimates regarding future revenues, research and development expenses, capital requirements and payments to third parties. 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 numerous factors and uncertainties, including the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, decisions of regulatory authorities and the timing thereof, the duration and impact of regulatory delays in our clinical programs, our ability to finance our operations, the likelihood and timing of the receipt of future milestone and licensing fees, the future success of our scientific studies, our ability to successfully develop and commercialize drug candidates, the timing for starting and completing clinical trials, rapid technological change in our markets, the enforcement of our intellectual property rights, and the other risks and uncertainties described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. We assume no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances.

Source: Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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References

1. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2018, 1096-1106

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