Arrowhead buys Novartis' RNAi assets

• Arrowhead Research (NASDAQ:ARWR) acquires Novartis' (NYSE:NVS) RNA interference (RNAi) R&D portfolio and associated assets, including certain patents and patent applications, an exclusive license to other patents and patent applications owned or controlled by Novartis, the assignment of a third party license and three preclinical product candidates.
• Specific assets include multiple patent families covering RNAi-trigger design rules and modifications that fall outside of competitors' patents which provides Arrowhead freedom to operate for any target or indication, the assignment of Novartis' license from Alnylam (NASDAQ:ALNY) that gives Arrowhead access to Alnylam IP, excluding delivery, covering 30 gene targets and three product candidates with varying amounts of preclinical data.
• Under the terms of the agreement, Arrowhead will pay $10M in cash (includes $7M paid previously) and $25M in ARWR stock within 30 days. Novartis is eligible to receive milestones and single-digit royalties on net sales.
• Arrowhead will host a conference call this morning at 8:30 am to discuss the deal.