Arbutus Biopharma had made no secret of its plans to step up its work on imdusiran. Now, the company has regained the China rights to the potential functional cure for hepatitis B.
China-based Qilu Pharmaceutical secured the regional rights to imdusiran, then known as AB-729, back in 2021 for a $40 million upfront fee. If Arbutus had stuck with the deal, it could have been in line for up to $245 million in development, regulatory and sales milestones payments.
Fast-forward to March 2025, and recently appointed Arbutus CEO Lindsay Androski revealed that the biotech was “evaluating strategies to accelerate the development and potential approval of imdusiran, alongside several subject matter experts being retained to assist with this evaluation.”
As part of this rethink and refocus on imdusiran, Arbutus laid off 57% of its employees, ended its in-house R&D and vacated its corporate headquarters in Warminster, Pennsylvania.
Explaining the “mutual” agreement this morning for Arbutus to regain the China rights to the drug, Androski placed the move not only in the context of “Arbutus’ renewed focus on advancing our pipeline efficiently” but also Qilu’s own “pipeline reprioritization efforts.”
Arbutus didn't reveal financial details behind the China rights reacquisition.
Arbutus has been assessing imdusiran, an RNA interference therapeutic, in a pair of phase 2a studies as a potential functional cure for chronic hepatitis B virus infection when used in combination with the likes of standard-of-care pegylated interferon alfa-2α or Barinthus Biotherapeutics' T-cell stimulating immunotherapeutic VTP-300.
“We are thrilled to once again hold global rights for imdusiran, which to date has achieved functional cure in eight patients in combination therapy in two phase 2a trials,” Androski added in today's release.