Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ARWR) is a pioneering company that is engaged in developing medicines for intractable ailments and over the years, it has grown into a highly influential player in the realm of RNA focussed medicines. In addition to that, the market has also recognized the true scope of the medicines that the company makes and its stock has appreciated considerably over the past year or so.
In 2018 alone, the Arrowhead stock rose by as much as .35% and from early January this year until date, the stock has gained another 100%. The reason behind Arrowhead’s rise is due to ARO-HBV, a product that is supposed to be a cure for people afflicted with the Hepatitis B virus.
Important Developments
However, there have been many more important developments that make Arrowhead such a compelling company. In addition to being the most important driver for the stock, ARO-HBV is also being recognized by big-ticket corporations now.
In a landmark development, healthcare behemoth Johnson and Johnson paid the company $250 million for the purpose of licensing the product. It has been renamed JNJ-3989 and Arrowhead stands to gain as much as $1.6 billion in milestone payments as well, in addition to royalty percentages.
JNJ-3899’s Outlook
The prospect of the JNJ-3899 product is immense and with Johnson and Johnson as the vendors, it has the possibility of becoming one of the most successful medicines. The Hepatitis B virus is extremely damaging and according to reliable data, around 900000 people die from the virus every year. Hence, there is a possibility of JNJ-3899 becoming a global leader in this particular segment.
However, for Arrowhead, ABO-HBV is not the only product that it has developed and it has already started working on other products. It has also emerged that the company has gone into a partnership with drug maker Amgen and are working on three new products that are going to go into clinical trials soon. Considering the company’s track record, these factors could take the stock to new heights.
