Arrowhead Pharma Wins in Midstage Hepatitis Study

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 5:43AM EST · Published Dec 6, 11:40AM EST

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Arrowhead Pharma Wins in Midstage Hepatitis Study — © Thinkstock

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR) saw its shares make a handy gain early Wednesday after the firm presented new data from its midstage study for the treatment of hepatitis B (HBV) infection.

These results were presented at the 22nd biennial HEP DART meeting held in Kona, Hawaii, and they indicate that multiple doses of an RNAi-based therapy may lead to a host response that is sustained after therapy is concluded.

For some quick background: the HEP DART meeting is an assembly of medical professionals and researchers, sharing ongoing drug development processes in the treatment of viral hepatitis, NASH and co-infections.

A significant reduction from baseline in HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) was achieved seven months following the administration of the last dose of ARC-520, with the lowest absolute level observed being just above the lower limit of HBsAg quantitation.

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The results also showed key evidence for the first time that two of three (66.7%) HBV e-antigen (HBeAg) positive patients and two of five (40%) HBeAg negative patients treated with an RNAi-based therapy achieved a sustained host response off therapy.

Bruce D. Given, M.D., COO and head of R&D for Arrowhead, commented:

We believe that achieving a functional cure of chronic hepatitis B infection will require a sustained host response, which is likely to be immune mediated. In our Phase 2 study of ARC-520, multiple patients saw continued reductions in key HBV markers long after ARC-520 treatment ceased. These data represent the first clinical evidence that an RNAi-based approach can lead to the type of favorable sustained host response that we have always believed is possible. Achieving this result with ARC-520, which was not designed for activity against HBV s-antigen produced by integrated DNA, provides us with further confidence that our new RNAi-based compound, ARO-HBV, which is designed to silence the production of all HBV gene products, including transcripts derived from integrated DNA, has a good chance of being a backbone therapy for combinations intended to cure chronic HBV.

Shares of Arrowhead were up 7% at $3.57 early Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $3.63 and a 52-week range of $1.20 to $4.54.

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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.