arwr-8k_20160209.htm

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 9, 2016

 

Arrowhead Research Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delaware

 

0-21898

 

46-0408024

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

 

225 South Lake Avenue, Suite 1050, Pasadena, CA 91101

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (626) 304-3400

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)

o

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4 (c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)

 

 

 

 



Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition

On February 9, 2016, Arrowhead Research Corporation announced and commented on its fiscal 2016 first quarter financial results for the period ended December 31, 2015. A copy of the press release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1.

 

In accordance with General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K, the information in this Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

 

 

 

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

 

 

99.1

  

Press Release, dated February 9, 2016.

 

 

 



SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: February 9, 2016

 

 

 

 

ARROWHEAD RESEARCH CORPORATION

 

 

By:

 

/s/ Kenneth Myszkowski

 

 

Kenneth Myszkowski

 

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

arwr-ex991_6.htm

Exhibit 99.1

PRESS RELEASE

February 9, 2016

 

 

 

Arrowhead Reports Fiscal 2016 First Quarter Results

- Conference Call and Webcast Today at 4:30 p.m. EST

PASADENA, Calif., February 9, 2016 — Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2016 first quarter ended December 31, 2015. The company is hosting a conference call at 4:30 p.m. EST to discuss results.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

Investors may access a live audio webcast on the Company's website at http://ir.arrowheadresearch.com/events.cfm. For analysts that wish to participate in the conference call, please dial 855-215-6159 or 315-625-6887 and enter Conference ID 40876476.

A replay of the webcast will be available on the company’s website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for 90 days. An audio replay will also be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will be available for 3 days. To access the audio replay, dial 404-537-3406 and enter Conference ID 40876476.

Fiscal 2016 First Quarter and Recent Company Highlights

ARC-520

 

·

Presented data at the AASLD Liver Meeting 2015 including the following:

 

·

ARC-520 led to robust, sustained anti-viral effects in chimpanzees with chronic HBV, and we also described an important new discovery that HBV DNA integrated into the host genome is likely an important source of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) production


 

·

In a Phase 2a clinical study, ARC-520 effectively reduced HBV viral antigens derived from cccDNA. HBsAg was reduced substantially with a maximum reduction of 1.9 logs (99%) and a mean maximum reduction of 1.5 logs (96.8%) in treatment naïve e-antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients

 

·

Presented data at Hep DART 2015 showing that ARC-520 led to immune reactivation in 7 of 9 chimpanzees with chronic hepatitis B infection

 

·

Began dosing in the Phase 2b MONARCH combination study

ARC-AAT

 

·

Expanded Part A of the Phase 1 study to test additional dose levels in healthy volunteers and expanded Part B to add additional treatment sites for patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

 

·

Received Orphan Drug Designation by the European Medicines Agency

Platform and Early Pipeline

 

·

Presented data at the Annual Meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society on the development of ARC-LPA against cardiovascular disease, which uses a new subcutaneous delivery construct that Arrowhead has developed



Selected Fiscal 2016 First Quarter Financial Results

ARROWHEAD RESEARCH CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Months Ended December 31,

OPERATING SUMMARY

 

2015

 

 

2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVENUE

 

$

43,750

 

 

$

170,750

 

 

OPERATING EXPENSES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development

 

 

10,338,833

 

 

 

17,744,312

 

 

Salaries and payroll-related costs

 

 

3,919,886

 

 

 

3,150,617

 

 

General and administrative expenses

 

 

1,951,609

 

 

 

2,086,202

 

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

2,380,343

 

 

 

2,014,856

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

794,349

 

 

 

290,039

 

 

TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES

 

 

19,385,020

 

 

 

25,286,026

 

 

OPERATING LOSS

 

 

(19,341,270

)

 

 

(25,115,276

)

 

OTHER INCOME/(EXPENSE), PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES

 

 

76,856

 

 

 

2,539,994

 

 

NET LOSS

 

$

(19,264,414

)

 

$

(22,575,282

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EARNINGS PER SHARE (BASIC AND DILUTED):

 

$

(0.32

)

 

$

(0.41

)

 

WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING

 

 

59,548,672

 

 

 

54,692,392

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINANCIAL POSITION SUMMARY

 

December 31,

 

 

September 30,

 

 

 

 

2015

 

 

2015

 

 

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

 

 

62,165,088

 

 

 

81,214,354

 

 

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS

 

 

14,431,498

 

 

 

17,539,902

 

 

TOTAL CASH RESOURCES (CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND INVESTMENTS)

 

 

76,596,586

 

 

 

98,754,256

 

 

OTHER ASSETS

 

 

34,784,553

 

 

 

33,513,658

 

 

TOTAL ASSETS

 

 

111,381,139

 

 

 

132,267,914

 

 

TOTAL LIABILITIES

 

 

19,012,747

 

 

 

22,646,280

 

 

TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

 

 

92,368,392

 

 

 

109,621,634

 

 

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

 

 

111,381,139

 

 

 

132,267,914

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHARES  OUTSTANDING

 

 

59,627,499

 

 

 

59,544,677

 

 

PROFORMA SHARES OUTSTANDING (INCLUDING CONVERSION OF PREFERRED SHARES)

 

 

62,298,489

 

 

 

62,215,667

 

 

 

About ARC-AAT

Arrowhead’s ARC-AAT is being investigated for the treatment of liver disease associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a rare genetic disease that severely damages the liver and lungs of affected individuals. The mean estimated prevalence of AATD in the U.S is 1 per 3000-5000, or approximately 100,000 patients. AATD is also an important cause of pediatric liver disease with an estimated prevalence in children of approximately 20,000 patients, and 50-80% likely to manifest liver disease during childhood. It is a rare disease that appears to be frequently misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. ARC-AAT employs a novel unlocked nucleobase analog (UNA) containing RNAi trigger molecule designed for systemic delivery using the Dynamic Polyconjugate delivery system. ARC-AAT is highly effective at knocking down the Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) gene transcript and reducing the hepatic production of the mutant AAT (Z-AAT) protein in animal models. Reduction of liver production of the inflammatory Z-AAT protein, which is believed to be the cause of progressive liver disease in AATD patients, is important as it is expected to halt the progression of liver disease and potentially allow fibrotic tissue repair. ARC-AAT was granted orphan drug designation in both the United States and in Europe,


the latter being held on Arrowhead’s behalf by a local EU representative Pharma Gateway AB. Arrowhead is conducting a Phase 1 clinical study of ARC-AAT, with part A in healthy volunteers and part B in AATD patients.

About ARC-520

Arrowhead’s RNAi-based candidate ARC-520 is being investigated in the treatment of chronic HBV infection. The small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in ARC-520 intervene at the mRNA level, upstream of the reverse transcription process where current standard of care nucleotide and nucleoside analogues act. Arrowhead is investigating ARC-520 specifically to determine if it can be used to achieve a functional cure, which is an immune clearant state characterized by hepatitis B s-antigen negative serum with or without seroconversion. Approximately 350-400 million people worldwide are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus, which can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and is responsible for 80% of primary liver cancers globally. Arrowhead is currently conducting Phase 2b multiple dose and combination studies in chronic HBV patients. In clinical studies to date, the most common reported adverse events in all subjects completing treatment were upper respiratory infection and headache.

About Arrowhead Research Corporation

Arrowhead Research Corporation 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. Arrowhead’s pipeline includes ARC-520 and ARC-521 for chronic hepatitis B virus, ARC-AAT for liver disease associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, ARC-F12 for hereditary angioedema and thromboembolic diseases, and ARC-HIF2 for renal cell carcinoma.

For more information please visit http://www.arrowheadresearch.com, or follow us on Twitter @ArrowRes. To be added to the Company's email list and receive news directly, please visit

http://ir.arrowheadresearch.com/alerts.cfm.

 

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act:

 

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including our ability to finance our operations, the future success of our scientific studies, our ability to successfully develop drug candidates, the timing for starting and completing clinical trials, rapid technological change in our markets, and the enforcement of our intellectual property rights. Arrowhead Research Corporation's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q discuss some of the important risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We assume no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances.

 

DYNAMIC POLYCONJUGATES is a trademark of Arrowhead Research Corporation.

 

 

Contacts:

Arrowhead Research Corporation

Vince Anzalone, CFA

626-304-3400

ir@arrowres.com

 

Investor Relations:

The Trout Group


Chad Rubin
646-378-2947

ir@arrowres.com

 

Media:

Russo Partners

Matt Middleman, M.D.
212-845-4272

matt.middleman@russopartnersllc.com

 

Source: Arrowhead Research Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

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