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.
BLT Price at posting:
82.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held