AbbVie stakes $335M on a startup's RNAi drugs
This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter.
AbbVie is staking hundreds of millions of dollars on RNA interference, agreeing on Wednesday to work with biotechnology startup ADARx Pharmaceuticals to develop experimental medicines for neurological conditions, immune diseases and cancer.
Under the terms of the deal, AbbVie will pay ADARx $335 million in cash upfront. The startup could receive 'several billion dollars' more in the form of option-related fees and downstream payments, though that money isn't guaranteed. ADARx would also get a share of royalties on any marketed products to emerge from the collaboration.
ADARx is part of a new generation of startups trying to take RNAi interference, a way of silencing disease-causing gene mutations, in new directions. While the technology has been used to make a handful of drugs now on the market, it's still largely focused on rare conditions and disease targets in the liver. ADARx and several others are trying to break beyond those limitations.
The company has drugs in testing for rare as well as common conditions, and diseases of the eye and kidney. It also claims to be able to deliver RNAi drugs to the brain, an area of focus in its collaboration with AbbVie.
The partners didn't disclose which specific diseases they're targeting. But ADARx's pipeline page shows 'multiple' programs underway for central nervous system disorders, along with the planned work in immunology and cancer.
RNAi is 'a promising genetic medicine approach for silencing disease-causing genes, but challenges still remain in targeting and delivering [it] effectively," said Jonathon Sedgwick, AbbVie's senior vice president and global head of discovery research, in a statement. 'Together, we're committed to developing innovative solutions for difficult-to-treat diseases across neuroscience, immunology and oncology."
ADARx is backed by more than a dozen investment firms and, last year, raised a $200 million Series C round that included several 'crossover' investors that back private and publicly traded companies. Alongside its RNAi work, the company is also pursuing RNA editing, another fast-growing area of drug research. It hasn't publicly disclosed any RNA editing programs yet, however.
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The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements. 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Progress towards hepatitis C virus elimination in high-income countries: An updated analysis. Liver Int. 2021 Mar;41(3):456-463. doi: 10.1111/liv.14779. Epub 2021 Jan 19. PMID: 33389788.8 The CDA Foundation. Hepatitis C – [United States]. Lafayette, CO: CDA Foundation, 2025. Available at: A Study to Evaluate Adverse Events and Change in Disease Activity in Adult and Adolescent Participants With Acute Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection on Treatment With Oral Tablets of Glecaprevir (GLE)/Pibrentasvir (PIB). identifier: NCT04903626. Available at: View source version on Contacts Media and Investor Contact Jennifer Viera617-744-3848jviera@
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