Arrowhead Pharma purchases land ahead of new manufacturing facility buildout

New campus will support the company as it approaches potential commercialisation of its rapidly progressing clinical candidates

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, a company specialising in harnessing RNAi technology to silence disease-causing genes, has purchased 13 acres of land in the Verona Technology Park in Verona, WI with a view to building a new 140,000-sq. ft GMP manufacturing plant.

The company also plans to build an associated laboratory and office facility, occupying approximately 115,000 sq. ft, to support process development and analytical activities.

The transaction comes at a time when, according to Arrowhead's president and CEO Christopher Anzalone, the company's investigational RNAi medicines continue to expand rapidly.

The new campus will, therefore, enable the company to advance the manufacturing process, including at commercial scale, of its TRiM-(Targeted RNAi Molecule) enabled drug candidates.

The company claims therapeutics developed with this platform offer several advantages, including simplified manufacturing and reduced costs, and multiple routes of administration.

Construction of the $200–250 million investment is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2022. Completion of the lab and office space is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, andcompletion of the manufacturing facility is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2023.

During this time, Arrowhead will continue to operate additional R&D facilities in Madison, WI, and San Diego, CA.

Once complete, the new facility is set to create about 250 new local jobs.