Sarepta Therapeutics has sold approximately $174 million worth of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals common stock for cash proceeds, which Sarepta will use to advance its siRNA programs.
In addition to selling 9,265,312 shares of stock, Sarepta entered into an agreement with Arrowhead pursuant to which it will transfer 2,660,989 shares of Arrowhead common stock in to pay $50 million of the company’s previously announced $100 million milestone payment obligation.
“We are very pleased with the progress of our potentially best-in-class siRNA programs, including the advancement of our SRP-1003 program for DM1, triggering the $100 million milestone payment to our partner, Arrowhead,” said Doug Ingram, Sarepta CEO. “The sale of our equity investment is a strategic decision to help fund this milestone but does not change our conviction in the utility of the siRNA approach and our confidence in the work Arrowhead is doing to apply this technology across several disease states. We look forward to sharing early data from our FSHD and DM1 programs in the second half of this year.”
Sarepta had inked a collaboration with Arrowhead in November 2024 to develop therapies for skeletal muscle diseases, with plans to pursue up to six discovery targets in muscle or central nervous system disorders. The clinical programs use Arrowhead’s proprietary Targeted RNAi Molecule delivery platform.
In July, Sarepta — who has been tied up in a public dispute with the FDA over Elevidys — announced a strategic restructuring plan designed to reduce operating expenses, with the aim of delivering $400 million in annual cost savings. The plan included a push to reprioritize the company’s pipeline to focus on “high-impact programs” — specifically its siRNA platform assets.
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