Arrowhead Jumps in Anticipation of Analyst Day

By Chris Lange Published Sep 24, 8:55AM EDT

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Arrowhead Research Corp. (NASDAQ: ARWR) shares soared in early trading indications Thursday in anticipation of its analyst day. The company is hosting the event Thursday in New York, with its presentation starting at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. This event was set up to discuss top-line findings from the Heparc-2001 Phase 2a clinical study of ARC-520, its candidate for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection.

Also, Arrowhead will discuss findings from an ARC-520 study with a background therapy of nucleotide/nucleoside analog inhibitors (NUCs) tenofovir and/or entecavir.

In its release, Arrowhead listed a few of its key findings as follows:

Arrowhead’s proprietary DPC platform can effectively and consistently knock down target genes in humans.
ARC-520 achieves significant HBV s-Antigen (HBsAg) reductions in humans, particularly in treatment naïve, HBeAg-positive patients.
Arrowhead identifies a large target HBV population for ARC-520 and describes a new paradigm for the HBV lifecycle.
ARC-520 induces deep HBsAg reduction in chronically HBV infected chimps and one of four HBeAg-positive chimps demonstrated signs of immune reactivation during therapy.
ARC-520 has been well tolerated.
Arrowhead expands its HBV portfolio by nominating an additional clinical candidate that is complementary to ARC-520.

Arrowhead Research is a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted RNAi therapeutics. The company is leveraging its proprietary Dynamic Polyconjugate delivery platform to develop targeted drugs based on the RNA interference mechanism that efficiently silences disease-causing genes.

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Christopher Anzalone, Ph.D., president and CEO of Arrowhead, said:

These are exciting data that represent a significant leap forward for our DPC platform, ARC-520, and the HBV field. We have achieved the highest knockdown ever reported in humans with RNAi and a safety profile that continues to be excellent. We are optimistic that this will ultimately translate into powerful clinical outcomes for ARC-520 and follow-on candidates against multiple indications.

Shares of Arrowhead closed Wednesday down 4.4%, at $6.74 in its 52-week trading range of $4.35 to $15.88. In early trading indications Thursday, shares were up over 44% at $9.72. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $9.50.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.