Portfolio Companies

Arrowhead Research Corporation forms or acquires companies pursuing product and technology development in nanotechnology. Arrowhead's strategy is to maintain or build a majority interest in its portfolio companies. We provide financial, administrative, corporate and strategic resources. This structure is designed to enable each management and technical team at the portfolio level to focus on developing specific technologies for specific markets.

Arrowhead currently has two majority-owned subsidiaries, Calando and Ablaris, and has minority investments in two early-stage nanotechnology companies, Nanotope, Inc. and Leonardo Biosystems, Inc.

Calando is a clinical stage nano-enabled drug delivery company. Calando’s siRNA therapeutic, currently undergoing Phase I clincial testing, is the first to be used to deliver siRNA systemically in humans. RNAi (through siRNA) is a potentially revolutionary new way of treating diverse disease classes; however, the lack of a proven method of delivering siRNA in humans has held the new field back. Arrowhead owns 70% of Calando.

Ablaris Therapeutics, Inc. is commercializing a new pharmaceutical approach to fighting obesity, a widespread and growing problem worldwide. Based on technology developed at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Ablaris platform consists of a suite of proprietary peptides that specifically target and kill the blood vessels that feed white fat tissue. Deprived of nutrition, the fat cells die and are broken down by the body. Independent studies across multiple species, including non-human primates, have demonstrated substantial and rapid weight loss in overweight animals. This is accomplished directly by reducing fat stores and indirectly by reducing appetite. Ablaris’ first drug candidate is expected to enter the clinic this year. Ablaris is a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead.

Nanotope is a regenerative medicine company developing a highly flexible and customizable platform out of Northwestern University. Nanotope is developing a suite of products, each customized to regenerate specific tissues; including neuronal, vascular, bone, myocardial, and cartilage. The products are injectable compounds that work with surviving cells in and around the point of damage to initiate and support tissue regeneration and growth. Once regeneration is complete, the compounds are safely broken down and removed by the body. Nanotope entered into its first commercialization corporate partnership in 2010.