AbbVie gains access to ADARx siRNA Platform in US$335M deal

USA—AbbVie has entered a major collaboration and licensing agreement with US-based ADARx Pharmaceuticals, investing US$335 million upfront to access ADARx’s proprietary small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology platform.

This partnership aims to develop innovative siRNA-based treatments targeting neuroscience, immunology, and oncology—areas AbbVie considers strategic priorities.

Under the agreement, ADARx will apply its siRNA discovery expertise to identify and develop novel molecular candidates.

Meanwhile, AbbVie will contribute its strengths in antibody engineering, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and targeted tissue delivery to enhance the precision and therapeutic potential of these siRNA candidates.

The deal grants AbbVie exclusive options on multiple siRNA programs across the specified disease areas.

In addition to the upfront payment, ADARx stands to receive several billion dollars more through option fees, development and commercial milestones, and tiered royalties on successful products, according to the announcement made on May 14, 2025.

This collaboration marks AbbVie’s second significant move into the siRNA field within a year.

In October 2024, AbbVie acquired Aliada Therapeutics for US$1.4 billion, primarily to gain access to its Alzheimer’s disease candidate ALIA-1758 and its innovative blood-brain barrier shuttle technology, which also shows promise for RNA delivery.

siRNA therapeutics work by selectively silencing disease-causing genes at the messenger RNA (mRNA) level, preventing the production of harmful proteins.

ADARx highlights that its approach can provide long-lasting gene silencing effects without altering the genome, potentially overcoming safety concerns linked to gene editing technologies.

Jonathon Sedgwick, AbbVie’s senior vice president and global head of discovery research, noted that while siRNA holds great promise for treating diseases by silencing problematic genes, challenges remain in effectively targeting and delivering these molecules.

He expressed optimism about combining ADARx’s RNA technology with AbbVie’s expertise to develop novel therapeutics for difficult-to-treat conditions in neuroscience, immunology, and oncology.

ADARx’s internal pipeline includes ADX-324, a treatment for hereditary angioedema nearing Phase III trials, alongside early-stage programs targeting complement-mediated diseases, cardiovascular conditions, neurodegeneration, and obesity.

 The company secured US$200 million in Series C funding in August 2023 to advance these assets.

The pharmaceutical industry’s interest in siRNA continues to grow. For instance, in March 2025, Eli Lilly reported promising Phase II results for lepodisiran, an siRNA therapy targeting lipoprotein(a), a cardiovascular risk factor.

Similarly, in January 2024, Boehringer Ingelheim entered a deal worth up to US$2 billion with Suzhou Ribe Life Science to develop siRNA therapies for liver diseases.

Just recently, GSK announced a US$2 billion acquisition of Boston Pharmaceuticals’ FGF21 analogue efimosfermin, intending to combine it with its own siRNA candidate to treat advanced steatotic liver disease.

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