Pasadena Pharmaceuticals Company Receives $50 Million Milestone Payment From Royalty Pharma

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Pasadena-based company specializing in RNA interference medications, announced it received a $50 million payment from Royalty Pharma plc, a New York City company focused on acquiring biopharmaceutical royalties and supporting life sciences innovation.

A statement from Arrowhead said this payment follows the full enrollment in the Phase 3 trial of olpasiran, a drug developed by Arrowhead and licensed to Amgen in 2016 to treat high levels of lipoprotein(a), a genetic risk factor for heart disease.

Dr. Christopher Anzalone, President and CEO of Arrowhead, highlighted the swift enrollment in the OCEAN(a) – Outcomes Trial, expressing optimism about olpasiran’s potential.

“Partnering is an important part of our strategy and we are pleased with all the care and work undertaken to bring this potentially important new therapy closer to patients,” Anzalone said.

According to the 2016 agreement with Amgen and a 2022 agreement with Royalty Pharma, Arrowhead stands to receive up to an additional $375 million from Amgen and $110 million from Royalty Pharma in milestone payments related to olpasiran’s development, regulatory approval, and sales.

Arrowhead’s drug pipeline includes three programs in Phase 3 clinical trials, with plozasiran as the lead candidate. Plozasiran is an RNA interference therapeutic aimed at reducing the production of Apolipoprotein C-III, with its first Phase 3 study set to conclude this quarter.

The Phase 3 OCEAN(a) trial seeks to evaluate olpasiran’s effect on reducing the risk of coronary heart disease death, myocardial infarction, or urgent coronary revascularization in participants with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and elevated lipoprotein(a).

Arrowhead said Olpasiran works by suppressing genes responsible for producing lipoprotein(a). Elevated lipoprotein(a) levels are associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals specializes in developing medications that silence disease-causing genes through RNA interference, utilizing a range of RNA chemistries and delivery methods.

For more information, visit www.arrowheadpharma.com.