Argo Biopharma has announced that the first patient has been dosed in a global phase 2b clinical trial of BW‑20829, an siRNA therapy being evaluated in adults with elevated lipoprotein (a) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
The study is sponsored by Novartis under the companies’ exclusive licence and collaboration agreement.
The advancement of the molecule into phase 2b triggers milestone payments to Argo Biopharma, which the company says will support research and development across its hepatic and extra‑hepatic siRNA programmes. BW‑20829 is the sixth candidate in Argo’s pipeline to reach mid‑stage global clinical development.
Dr Dongxu Shu, Co‑Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Argo Biopharma, said: “We are pleased that Novartis has advanced BW-20829 into Phase 2b clinical development.” He added: “This milestone underscores the strength of Argo’s discovery and early clinical development capabilities, together with Novartis’ scientific rigor and speed of execution to bring forward therapeutic options for patients’ unmet cardiovascular needs.
“Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and the progression of BW-20829 into Phase 2b represents a meaningful step toward the potential development of additional therapeutic options for patients with elevated cardiovascular risk.”
BW‑20829 was developed using Argo’s proprietary RADS platform and is designed to deliver potent, durable gene silencing with differentiated safety and delivery characteristics through hepatic targeting.
The company continues to build a cardiovascular and specialty disease pipeline based on hepatic siRNA, alongside an earlier‑stage portfolio of extra‑hepatic siRNAs aimed at multiple tissue types.
Details of the phase 2b study are available on ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT07235046.
Argo Biopharma describes itself as a clinical‑stage biotechnology company focused on next‑generation RNAi therapeutics across cardiovascular, viral, metabolic and rare disease indications, with six RNAi candidates currently in clinical development.
