Roivant, Arbutus launch RNA-focused newco Genevant

Arbutus Biopharma Corp. (NASDAQ:ABUS) and Roivant Sciences GmbH (Basel, Switzerland) launched Genevant Sciences, a jointly owned company that will focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA-based therapeutics delivered via Arbutus' lipid nanoparticle and ligand conjugate technology.

Genevant plans to develop products in-house, and will also pursue partnerships to build a pipeline across multiple modalities, including RNAi, mRNA and gene editing. The company aims to bring 5-10 candidates into the clinic by 2020...