Redemplo is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lower very high triglycerides in the rare condition familial chylomicronemia syndrome.
- The company expects to file a supplemental application seeking approval for Redemplo in severe hypertriglyceridemia by year-end.
- CEO Chris Anzalone sees $3 billion to $4 billion U.S. peak sales for the drug.
- The company has several other candidates in its pipeline as well.
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (ARWR) is moving from a long development grind into a commercial company, with its first RNA-interference drug on the market and more than 20 other candidates in testing, CEO Chris Anzalone said at an investor conference on Wednesday.
The Pasadena firm designs short RNA strands that silence specific genes. Its first product, REDEMPLO (plozasiran), is a quarterly at-home injection approved in 2025 to lower very high triglycerides in the rare condition familial chylomicronemia syndrome.
“Things were hard for quite some time, but it feels like over the last 18 or so months, we have finally broken out,” Anzalone said at the H.C. Wainwright conference.
Launch Is Good, But A ‘Slow Burn’
Anzalone said the launch of REDEMPLO “has been good” after months of talks with insurers. The sales team started small, grew through the summer, and will expand again in early 2027 before a planned launch of the drug in severe hypertriglyceridemia in the second quarter. That larger market covers about 3.5 million U.S. patients.
Anzalone was direct: “This is not going to be one of those out-of-the-gate gangbusters launch, we don’t think. It’s going to be a little bit of a slow burn for the first couple of years.” He still sees a $3 billion to $4 billion U.S. peak.
A day earlier at a Morgan Stanley conference, he said the launch was “maybe a little bit faster than we expected” after finding more patients than first thought. “This is a pancreatitis drug,” he said, not a typical cholesterol pill. Pivotal studies showed roughly 80% triglyceride drops and a sharp cut in pancreatitis risk, with a clean safety profile for the drug.
Arrowhead is expected to file a supplemental application seeking approval for the drug in severe hypertriglyceridemia by year-end. A purchased priority-review voucher should help accelerate the review process for the application.
Pipeline Beyond The First Drug
“The reward for becoming commercial is that people only focus on the drug that’s commercial. We have a massive pipeline,” Anzalone said.
Next after REDEMPLO’s launch in severe hypertriglyceridemia could be zodasiran for a rare high-cholesterol condition—an “easy lift” for the same sales team and “found value,” he said.
Early data on ARO-DIMER-PA, a single molecule that hits two genes at once, showed strong drops in both bad cholesterol and triglycerides. Anzalone called it “a breakthrough for us, and I think for the field.”
Obesity and fatty-liver programs will report more results later this year. A subcutaneous Alzheimer’s candidate is due to report healthy-volunteer data soon. Arrowhead says it can reach a new cell type every 18-24 months.
How Did ARWR Retail Traders React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around ARWR stock jumped from ‘bullish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while retail chatter rose from ‘high’ to ‘extremely high’ levels.
A Stocktwits user expressed optimism in the company’s pipeline.
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Another said they were using the recent selloff to add more shares.
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ARWR stock has gained 2% year-to-date.
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