Arrowhead Research (ARWR) with September $35 calls adding 3000X on 4/4 to the 2000 bought on 3/18 while April $30 calls are still holding 4000X though down 80%. Arrowhead develops medicines that treat intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. Arrowhead’s pipeline of 12 development programs ranges from pre-clinical discovery to late-stage clinical development, and it is focused on developing its most advanced therapies for late-stage clinical trials. Using a broad portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery, Arrowhead therapies trigger the RNA interference mechanism to induce rapid, deep and durable knockdown of target genes. Arrowhead’s Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRiMTM) platform utilizes ligand-mediated delivery and is designed to enable tissue-specific targeting while being structurally simple. Targeting has been core to Arrowhead’s development philosophy and the TRiMTM platform builds on more than a decade of work on actively targeted drug delivery vehicles. ARWR has collaborations with Glaxo, Horizon, Janssen, Amgen and Takeda.

ARWR positioning looks to be for Phase 3 PALISADE data on plozasiran (ARO-APOC) in Familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) expected in mid-2024 and the company’s first NDA by year-end. Arrowhead has a rich early TRiM pipeline with multiple partnering opportunities according to Piper. Arrowhead will also present new final Phase 2 clinical data from the double-blind portion of the SHASTA-2 study of plozasiran in a late-breaking oral presentation at the upcoming American College of Cardiology 73rd Annual Scientific Session & Expo ACC.24, being held in Atlanta on April 6-8, 2024 as a potential catalyst for the currently under water April calls. Initiation of the SHASTA-3 and SHASTA-4 studies is expected in 2Q24.

ARWR has a market cap of $3.24B and trades 15X Cash and 4X expected FY28 revenues. Short interest is at 7% of the float, rising 25% Q/Q. ARWR was also mentioned by Betaville in late February with M&A chatter. ARWR is now trading below the $28.50/share secondary from earlier this year of 15.8M shares. ARWR announced a restructuring last quarter and is strengthening the balance sheet. R&D spend will be focused on advancing candidates to an attractive stage for potential partnerships.