Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals enters agreement with GSK to develop NASH drug candidate

Arrowhead to receive US $ 120 million upfront payment for Phase 1/2 program for NASH and is eligible to receive potential milestone payments and royalties on commercial sales

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals announced that it entered into an exclusive license agreement with GlaxoSmithKline under which GSK will develop and commercialize ARO-HSD, Arrowhead’s investigational RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic in a Phase 1/2 trial that is currently being developed as a treatment for patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

“Genetic studies have shown that HSD17B13 is a compelling therapeutic target for multiple forms of liver disease. Based on the clinical results generated to date, including those recently presented at the 2021 AASLD Liver Meeting, ARO-HSD could have the potential to be the first investigational therapeutic to achieve robust reductions in mRNA and protein levels of hepatic HSD17B13, leading to reductions in ALT, a liver enzyme typically elevated in liver diseases such as NASH,” said Christopher Anzalone, Ph.D., Arrowhead’s president and CEO. “GSK has a global reach and impressive capabilities in the clinical development and commercialization of important medicines. As the work continues towards progressing further Phase 2 studies and planning Phase 3 studies for ARO-HSD, we believe this agreement with GSK furthers the potential of ARO-HSD as a promising new investigational therapeutic for patients with NASH and other liver diseases. We look forward to enabling GSK to advance ARO-HSD towards the millions of patients worldwide who do not have adequate treatment options.”

“NASH can be a life-threatening disorder in which excessive fat build-up in the liver causes inflammatory damage and fibrosis. The compelling genetic evidence linking HSD17B13 variants with protection of the liver from inflammatory injury suggests that there is an opportunity to produce a first-in-class medicine to reduce the clinical consequences of NASH. It’s exciting to advance Arrowhead’s promising RNAi approach into Phase 2 studies as an important potential new medicine for patients with NASH,” said John Lepore, SVP and Head of Research, GSK.