Novartis has secured an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals worth up to $2.2 billion, advancing Arrowhead’s RNA interference (RNAi) drug ARO-SNCA targeting alpha-synuclein for Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies. This strategic move marks Novartis’ renewed commitment to RNAi for neurodegenerative diseases, following setbacks with prior Parkinson’s candidates. The collaboration leverages Arrowhead’s TRiM platform, promoting efficient development of CNS-targeting RNAi therapies. Novartis also gains rights to expand use of this platform across additional disease targets. Arrowhead’s preclinical data demonstrated potent, durable knockdown in adipose tissue leading to a Phase I/IIa trial for obesity, with plans for combination studies underway. This agreement underscores the growing momentum behind RNAi as a modality for neurological conditions and reflects increasing pharma interest in precision genetic approaches to difficult-to-treat CNS diseases.