Making a second attempt to enter the alpha-synuclein targeted field, Novartis has signed a licensing and collaboration agreement with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals for the latter’s ARO-SNCA programme. The deal, which involves a US$200 M upfront payment and up to US$2 B in milestones, provides Novartis with an exclusive license to Arrowhead’s preclinical stage siRNA therapy for the treatment of synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s Disease, and for other additional collaboration targets that will utilise Arrowhead’s Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRiM™) platform. The deal comes shortly after Novartis discontinued the development of its UCB-partnered alpha-synuclein therapy, minzasolmin, following disappointing Phase IIa results.