– ARO-INHBE in combination with tirzepatide achieved -9.4% weight loss at week 16 in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, demonstrating an approximately two-fold improvement versus -4.8% on tirzepatide alone
– ARO-INHBE drove robust fat reduction including -23.2% visceral fat, -15.4% total fat, and -76.7% liver fat reduction, representing an approximately three-fold improvement in all these measures versus tirzepatide alone in obese diabetic patients
– ARO-INHBE monotherapy achieved mean visceral fat reduction of -9.9% (single dose, week 16) and -15.6% placebo adjusted (two doses, week 24) with single dose treatment increasing lean muscle tissue by 3.6 %
– ARO-ALK7 is the first RNAi-therapeutic to show knockdown in humans of an adipocyte expressed gene and achieved a mean reduction of -88% in ALK7 mRNA with a maximum reduction of -94%
– ARO-ALK7 monotherapy achieved a -14.1% (single dose, week 8) placebo adjusted visceral fat reduction
– Company hosting a virtual KOL webinar today, January 6, 2026, at 11:30 am EST to discuss results
PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 6, 2026–Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR) today announced interim results from two Phase 1/2a clinical trials of ARO-INHBE and ARO-ALK7, the company’s investigational RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics being developed as potential treatments for obesity. Preliminary results with Arrowhead’s promising new approach to treating obesity and metabolic diseases showed meaningful reductions in multiple key measures, including visceral fat, total fat, and liver fat. To date, in combination with tirzepatide, a GLP-1/GIP receptor co-agonist, ARO-INHBE has doubled weight loss and tripled reductions in visceral fat, total fat, and liver fat versus tirzepatide alone in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The Phase 1/2a studies of ARO-INHBE and ARO-ALK7 are ongoing, and the Company expects to report and present additional results in 2026.
“The future of obesity care must acknowledge and address the different subtypes of obesity. New therapeutic approaches should focus on reducing visceral fat and combining therapies to achieve a low cardiovascular risk state and improve cardio-renal-metabolic outcomes,” said Carel le Roux, M.D., Ph.D., Chair in Chemical Pathology and Metabolic Medicine at University College Dublin School of Medicine. “The interim clinical trial results announced today for Arrowhead’s ARO-INHBE and ARO-ALK7 show dramatic and rapid reductions in visceral fat, a key driver in metabolic diseases. Furthermore, ARO-INHBE in combination with tirzepatide almost doubled weight loss and improved multiple measures of body composition versus tirzepatide alone in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This is promising and demonstrates therapeutic potential for RNAi-based targeting of the Activin E/ALK7 pathway directly in a patient population that typically loses less weight on therapy and experiences worse cardiovascular outcomes compared to non-diabetic patients. This is a clear area of high unmet need.”
The interim clinical trial results announced today represent the first demonstration in humans that the Activin E/ALK7 pathway, a genetically validated pathway that regulates adipose fat storage, may potentially be harnessed therapeutically to improve body composition and enhance weigh loss versus tirzepatide treatment alone in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This patient population typically experiences less weight loss with incretin therapy, are less likely to reach weight loss targets, and need more effective treatment options.
James Hamilton, M.D., MBA, Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D at Arrowhead added, “While incretin-based therapies have meaningfully advanced the treatment of obesity and metabolic disease, shortcomings around loss of lean mass, tolerability related to GI effects, reduced response in patients with diabetes, and disproportional fat mass gain after cessation of therapy remains a challenge for many patients. Interim results from the Phase 1/2a studies of ARO-INHBE and ARO-ALK7 provide encouraging early evidence that targeting the Activin E/ALK7 pathway may address some of the limitations in current standard-of-care obesity treatments. The ARO-INHBE and ARO-ALK7 programs are important strategically for Arrowhead, complementing our focus and growing commercial capabilities that enable us to potentially advance multiple novel RNAi-based therapies for cardiometabolic diseases. The impressive early results announced today further demonstrate Arrowhead’s leadership in the design and development of potentially best-in-class RNAi-based therapies, utilizing our proprietary and differentiated Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRiMTM) platform, for liver expressed genes such as INHBE and now for adipose expressed genes such as ALK7.”
About ARO-INHBE
ARO-INHBE is designed to reduce the hepatic expression of the INHBE gene and its secreted gene product, Activin E. INHBE is a promising genetically validated target in which loss-of-function INHBE variants in humans are associated with improved fat distribution and lower risk of metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. Activin E acts as a ligand in a pathway that regulates energy homeostasis in adipose tissue. Inhibiting this pathway with investigational ARO-INHBE treatment has the potential to increase lipolysis, and reduce adipose hypertrophy and dysfunction, visceral adiposity, and insulin resistance.
About the AROINHBE-1001 Phase 1/2 Study
AROINHBE-1001 (NCT06700538) is a Phase 1/2a dose-escalating study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ARO-INHBE in up to 78 adult volunteers with obesity. Part 1 of the study is designed to assess single and multiple doses of ARO-INHBE monotherapy, and Part 2 of the study is designed to assess ARO-INHBE in combination with tirzepatide, a subcutaneously administered GLP-1/GIP receptor co-agonist that has been approved in the United States and the European Union for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus since 2022 and weight management since 2023/2024 respectively.
About ARO-ALK7
ARO-ALK7 is designed to silence adipocyte expression of the ACVR1C gene to reduce production of Activin receptor-like kinase 7 (ALK7), which acts as a receptor in a pathway that regulates energy homeostasis in adipose tissue. In large genetic datasets, reduced ACVR1C expression has been associated with healthier adipose distribution and reduced risk of obesity-related metabolic complications. In preclinical animal studies, ALK7 silencing in adipose tissue led to reduced body weight and fat mass with preservation of lean muscle. Treatment with investigational ARO-ALK7 has the potential to reduce visceral adiposity and improve lipid and glycemic parameters.
About the AROALK7-1001 Phase 1/2 Study
AROALK7-1001 (NCT06937203) is a Phase 1/2a first-in-human dose-escalating study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ARO-ALK7 in up to 90 adult volunteers with obesity. Part 1 of the study is designed to assess single and multiple doses of ARO-ALK7 monotherapy, and Part 2 of the study is designed to assess ARO-ALK7 in combination with tirzepatide.
About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals develops medicines that treat intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. Using a broad portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery, Arrowhead therapies trigger the RNA interference mechanism to induce rapid, deep, and durable knockdown of target genes. RNA interference, or RNAi, is a mechanism present in living cells that inhibits the expression of a specific gene, thereby affecting the production of a specific protein. Arrowhead’s RNAi-based therapeutics leverage this natural pathway of gene silencing.