Arrowhead, Novartis announce licensing and collaboration agreement for ARO-SNCA

Arrowhead (ARWR) announced a global licensing and collaboration agreement with Novartis (NVS) for ARO-SNCA, Arrowhead’s preclinical stage siRNA therapy against alpha-synuclein for the treatment of synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s Disease, and for other additional collaboration targets that will utilize Arrowhead’s proprietary Targeted RNAi Molecule platform. Upon closing, Arrowhead will receive $200M as an upfront payment and is eligible to receive up to $2B in potential milestone payments plus royalties on commercial sales. Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will receive an exclusive worldwide license to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize ARO-SNCA, a preclinical stage program that utilizes Arrowhead’s TRiM platform for subcutaneous administration and delivery to the CNS designed to target the gene that encodes the alpha-synuclein protein as a potential treatment for patients with Parkinson’s Disease, and other synucleinopathies. Novartis will select additional collaboration targets outside of Arrowhead’s current pipeline to be developed using the TRiM platform. For all licensed programs under the agreement, Arrowhead will conduct and complete preclinical research activities necessary to enable a clinical trial application filing. Novartis will then assume sole control over development, manufacturing, medical affairs, and commercialization activities. Upon closing, Novartis will make a $200M upfront payment to Arrowhead. Arrowhead is also eligible to receive development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments of up to $2B. Arrowhead is further eligible to receive tiered royalties on commercial sales up to the low double digits. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and other customary conditions.