Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals plans to raise $45 million

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals plans to raise $45 million

By Judy Newman, Wisconsin State Journal

Arrowhead_logoArrowhead Pharmaceuticals — a California drug development company with most of its operations in Madison — plans to raise $45 million in a private stock offering.

Arrowhead said it is making 7.63 million shares of common stock available, at $5.90 a share, with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as the sole placement agent. The offering is expected to close by Aug. 12.

The stock sale would bring in $45 million before expenses are subtracted.

 Arrowhead is developing drugs based on RNA interference, or RNAi, a natural process that can turn off harmful genes. Funds from the stock sale will help pay for clinical trials underway on two drugs, said Dave Lewis, who is Arrowhead’s chief scientific officer and heads the company’s Madison operations.

The lead drug, ARC-520, is aimed at treating chronic hepatitis B, an infection in the liver that can lead to cirrhosis or cancer. Read more …