Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has completed enrollment in its global Phase 3 YOSEMITE clinical trial of zodasiran for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, with study completion anticipated in mid-2027. The trial originally planned to enroll 60 participants but strong patient and physician interest led to a total of 70 patients enrolled. Zodasiran is an investigational RNA interference therapeutic designed to reduce ANGPTL3 production, offering a mechanism distinct from conventional LDL-C–lowering therapies. Arrowhead intends to seek regulatory approval in multiple geographies pending successful results.
Asahi Kasei Therapeutics Doses First Patient in Phase 2a Trial of AIC468 for BK Virus
Asahi Kasei Therapeutics, the global specialty pharmaceutical business of Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei, announced that the first patient has been dosed in a randomized Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating AIC468, a novel antiviral antisense oligonucleotide, in adult kidney transplant recipients with BK virus infection. The trial, registered as NCT07503561, is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study and forms part of a larger Phase 2/3 program designed to assess safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile across multiple dose levels, measured by the frequency and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events. Progression into Phase 2a was supported by favorable Phase 1 safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic data, and the investigational program was developed by Aicuris Anti-infective Cures AG, which is now part of Asahi Kasei Therapeutics. Carl Kraus, Chief Medical Officer of Asahi Kasei Therapeutics, said BK virus reactivation remains a major complication for kidney transplant recipients that can lead to graft dysfunction and BK nephropathy, and that dosing the first patient represents an important step toward a targeted antiviral therapy for a community with no approved treatment options. BK virus-associated nephropathy affects up to 10% of kidney transplant recipients and can result in graft loss, while current management relies on reducing immunosuppressive therapy, which increases the risk of graft rejection.
GSK Adds Wave Life Sciences Hepatology Candidate, Expands AN2 Tuberculosis Research
GSK has entered a collaboration with Wave Life Sciences to advance a GalNAc-siRNA hepatology candidate into its development pipeline, while separately expanding its tuberculosis research with AN2 Therapeutics. The Wave Life Sciences partnership focuses on RNA-based therapies targeting liver diseases using GalNAc-siRNA technology, giving GSK another modality in liver disease and access to Wave's SpiNA design platform without building that RNA chemistry capability internally. The AN2 Therapeutics work is supported by new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for boron-based drug discovery. The Wave hepatology move and the Gates-backed TB research funding sit within GSK's existing narrative of heavier R&D reinvestment and business development, though the high R&D spend and execution uncertainty still apply if these programs move slowly or fail to produce strong late-stage assets. The clearest next marker will be whether GSK or Wave disclose that one of the three remaining collaboration programs reaches formal candidate selection over the next research updates, triggering further milestone payments.
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNAi / Antisense Oligonucleotides ▲Technology
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNA Therapeutics ▲Technology
GSK.LSE · Technology · Positive GSK adds Wave's GalNAc-siRNA hepatology candidate and expands AN2 TB research, broadening its R&D pipeline.
WVE · Demand · Positive GSK enters collaboration with Wave Life Sciences to advance a GalNAc-siRNA hepatology candidate, with potential milestone payments.
ANTX · Capital · Positive GSK expands tuberculosis research with AN2 Therapeutics, supported by new Gates Foundation funding for boron-based drug discovery.
Lepu Medical Subsidiary's MWN117 Injection Receives US FDA Clinical Trial Approval
Lepu Medical announced that its controlling subsidiary, Shanghai Minwei Biotechnology, has received a notice from the US FDA agreeing to allow clinical trials for the MWN117 injection. The drug is an siRNA therapy targeting INHBE inhibition, indicated for overweight and obesity, and has already received clinical trial approval from China's CDE. Non-clinical studies show that the drug, used alone or in combination with GLP-1 receptor agonists, effectively reduces body weight and body fat while reducing muscle loss, with efficacy lasting up to 12 weeks. Currently, no similar drug has been approved for marketing domestically or internationally.
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNA Therapeutics ▲Regulation
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNAi / Antisense Oligonucleotides ▲Regulation
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › Metabolic, Diabetes & Obesity Regulation
Longevity & Life Extension › GLP-1 Healthspan Proxies Regulation
300003.CS · Technology · Positive Lepu Medical's subsidiary received US FDA clinical trial approval for its siRNA obesity drug MWN117, advancing its R&D pipeline.
上海民为生物技术有限公司 · Technology · Positive Shanghai Minwei Biotechnology, the controlling subsidiary, received FDA clinical trial approval for its INHBE-targeting siRNA obesity therapy MWN117.
Sarepta Reports Two-Year Elevidys Data as FDA Restrictions and 28.86% Short Interest Linger
Sarepta Therapeutics reported two-year results on September 30 for its Elevidys gene therapy, covering 25 ambulatory patients aged 8 to 12 compared with 99 patients in an external control group, with the company citing functional benefits relative to those controls. The comparison used an external control rather than a randomized concurrent control group, a design point the company said matters when interpreting the findings. Commercially, Sarepta generated $328.7 million in second-quarter product revenue, including $230.6 million from its PMO therapies and $98.1 million from Elevidys, alongside GAAP operating income of $13.3 million and approximately $945 million in cash, restricted cash and investments. Total second-quarter revenue declined to $401.3 million from $611.1 million a year earlier, reflecting lower Elevidys revenue and changes in collaboration revenue. Elevidys still carries an FDA boxed warning for serious liver injury and acute liver failure, including fatal outcomes, and in November 2025 the FDA restricted its indication to ambulatory patients aged four and older with a confirmed mutation in the DMD gene following reports of fatal liver failure in nonambulatory patients; the September follow-up findings do not remove those restrictions or the warning. The shares traded at approximately 0.9x trailing sales, compared with 3.2x for rare-disease drugmaker BioMarin Pharmaceutical, while short interest stood at 28.86% of the float and hedge fund holders fell to 37 in the second quarter from 41 in the first, with AQR Capital Management the largest holder at 4.3 million shares and Marshall Wace LLP raising its position by 205% to 2.2 million shares.
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › Rare Disease Regulation
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNA Therapeutics Regulation
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNAi / Antisense Oligonucleotides Regulation
SRPT · Regulation · Negative FDA restricted Elevidys to ambulatory patients 4+ after fatal liver failure reports, and the new follow-up data do not remove those restrictions or the boxed warning
SRPT · Technology · Neutral Two-year Elevidys data show functional benefit vs external controls, but the non-randomized design and unchanged FDA restrictions/boxed warning leave the read mixed
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals reported in the Journal of Hepatology that a pre-specified secondary analysis of the Phase 3 MAESTRO-NASH trial found Rezdiffra, also known as resmetirom, improved fibrosis, MASH resolution, liver fat and biomarker levels across patients regardless of common genetic risk variants including PNPLA3, HSD17B13, TM6SF2, MTARC1 and MBOAT7, with safety consistent with the overall study. The company said Rezdiffra's thyroid hormone receptor-beta mechanism appeared unaffected by these genetic risk pathways, suggesting the drug's benefit may extend broadly across genetically diverse MASH populations. Madrigal is also pursuing a precision-medicine PNPLA3 siRNA program, having recently added MGL-0795, a PNPLA3-targeting siRNA, to its pipeline alongside the existing Pfizer DGAT2 combo program. The company's narrative projects $3.2 billion in revenue and $935.6 million in earnings by 2029, requiring 42.0% yearly revenue growth and about a $1.25 billion earnings increase from -$309.4 million today, while more optimistic analysts assume about US$3.6 billion in revenue and US$1.5 billion in earnings by 2028.
Therna Biosciences Names Kevin Green COO, Adds Two AI Advisors, Wins NIH TRDNT Challenge Phase I
Therna Biosciences appointed Kevin Green, former Chief Business Officer of Inceptive, as Chief Operating Officer and added two AI technical leaders to its advisory team, while the NIH Common Fund selected the company as a Phase I winner of its Targeting RNA in Disease with Novel Technologies Challenge. Green, who joined Therna in August and brings more than 20 years of experience across AI-enabled drug discovery and RNA therapeutics, leads the company's operations and business development as its RNA-Logix platform moves into partnered and internal programs. The new AI advisors are Dr. Dave Burke, the first Chief Technology Officer of Arc Institute and previously Vice President of Engineering for Android at Google, and Mr. Harsh Mehta, co-founder and CTO of Mirendil and previously a Senior Research Scientist at Anthropic and a researcher at Google. Therna is one of 25 Phase I winners of the three-phase TRDNT Challenge, which offers up to $13.1 million in total awards as teams develop and validate their technologies through 2027. Therna's winning proposal introduces a co-scientist agent built on RNA-Logix that designs and optimizes sequence-specific activating antisense oligonucleotides for ultra-rare haploinsufficiencies.