Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals inks $200 million deal with Novartis for Parkinson's disease treatment

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has signed a collaboration agreement with Novartis for ARO-SNCA, a preclinical siRNA candidate for treating synucleinopathies. Arrowhead will receive a $200 million upfront payment and up to $2 billion in milestone payments. The agreement is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Separately, Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced positive Phase 3 results for olezarsen in treating severe hypertriglyceridemia.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) has entered into a global partnership with Novartis (NYSE:NVS) for the development of ARO-SNCA, a preclinical siRNA therapy aimed at treating synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s disease. Under this agreement, Novartis gains exclusive global rights to ARO-SNCA and will also invest in its development [1].

The deal includes a $200 million upfront payment, with the potential for up to $2 billion in milestone payments, plus royalties on future sales. This agreement is expected to close in the second half of 2025 [2]. The collaboration adds to Novartis’ expanding portfolio of neurodegenerative disease treatments, which includes approved therapies for multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s disease [3].

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a strong track record of partnering with major pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, GSK, and Takeda. Their most significant partnership, with Sarepta Therapeutics, is valued at upwards of $11 billion if all programs are successful. This latest deal with Novartis further solidifies Arrowhead’s position as a leader in RNA interference technology [2].

The collaboration is based on Arrowhead’s TRiM platform, which has shown promise in preclinical studies for delivering RNA medicines to the brain. Novartis believes that Arrowhead’s technology has the potential to effectively target core drivers in Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases [3].

Separately, Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced positive Phase 3 results for olezarsen in treating severe hypertriglyceridemia. This development highlights the growing interest in siRNA therapies for various medical conditions [3].

References:
[1] https://seekingalpha.com/news/4491104-arrowhead-pharmaceuticals-and-novartis-sign-global-deal-for-sirna-therapy
[2] https://www.biospace.com/business/arrowhead-nabs-up-to-2b-novartis-commitment-for-sirna-parkinsons-program
[3] https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/novartis-takes-another-shot-alpha-synuclein-22b-arrowhead-deal