Arrowhead Research this week announced that Chicago-based institutional investor Lincoln Park Capital has agreed to provide up to $15 million to support Arrowhead's operations after it acquired the RNA drugs assets of Roche (see related story, this issue).
The deal marks the second time in as many weeks that Lincoln Park has provided a funding commitment to an RNAi drugs company following a similar deal with Marina Biotech (GSN 10/20/2011). It also comes about a year after the group signed an equity purchase deal with Bio-Path to help fund the development of that company's liposome-based siRNA delivery technology.
Under the newest deal, Arrowhead said it may, subject to customary conditions, “draw all or part of the $15 million commitment at its sole discretion over a three-year period.” There are no warrants associated with the facility, it added, and pricing is based on closing market prices.
Just last week, Marina said that Lincoln Park had agreed to invest up to $15 million. Such investment will occur at Marina's discretion.
And last summer, Bio-Path announced that it had inked a deal under which it would sell up to $7 million in shares of its common stock “from time to time over a 24-month period” to Lincoln Park.
Officials from Lincoln Park were not available for comment on the investment firm's interest in the RNAi space.