Arcturus Therapeutics Announces Strategic Collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Innovation to Discover and Develop RNA Medicines for Defined Indications
San Diego, Calif., June 11, 2015 – Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc., a leading RNA medicines company, announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration and worldwide license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen). Under the agreement, facilitated by J&J Innovation, the parties will work together to develop and commercialize RNA-based drug products for the treatment of specified diseases using Arcturus’ UNA Oligomer™ chemistry and LUNAR™ nanoparticle delivery platform. Arcturus will receive an upfront payment, R&D support, and pre-clinical, development and sales milestone payments, as well as royalty payments on any future licensed product sales. Janssen will assume responsibility for development costs and all commercialization costs associated with the program. The collaboration brings together Arcturus’ expertise and intellectual property in the field of RNA medicines along with Janssen’s clinical development, regulatory, and marketing proficiency.
“We are pleased to be collaborating with a top tier pharmaceutical company like Janssen,” said Joseph E. Payne, President & CEO of Arcturus Therapeutics. “Arcturus is thrilled to be working together with Janssen to identify an RNA treatment for one of the pharmaceutical industry’s most challenging disease targets.”
About Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc.
Founded in 2013 and based in San Diego, Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. is an RNA medicines company with enabling technologies – UNA Oligomer™ chemistry and LUNAR™ nanoparticle delivery. Arcturus’ versatile RNA therapeutics platform can be applied toward all types of RNA medicines including small interfering RNA, messenger RNA, antisense RNA, microRNA and gene editing therapeutics. The company owns unlocked nucleomonomer agent (UNA) technology including UNA Oligomers™, which are covered by its patent portfolio (34 patents and patent applications, issued in the U.S. and other countries). The patented UNA technology can be used to target any gene in the human genome, as well as viral genes, and other species for therapeutic purposes. For more information, visit www.ArcturusRx.com.
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