Company: ABUS
Filing Date: 2025-03-27
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001447028-25-000083
Chunk: 29

Company: Arbutus Biopharma Corp
Filing Date: 2025-03-27
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 29
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 research. In connection with these actions, we expect to incur a one-time restructuring charge in the first quarter of 2025 of approximately $11 million to $13 million. 

With these organizational changes and our ongoing cost management efforts, we expect to significantly reduce our net cash burn in 2025 when compared to 2024. Our new Board and management team are reviewing our pipeline and development plans for our hepatitis B programs. To assist with this review, we are currently retaining experts in virology, hepatitis B, and in the clinical development and approval of antiviral treatments. We expect to provide a further update once our review is complete.

Strategy 

Our strategy is focused on maximizing opportunities for our cHBV development programs and our in-house developed LNP delivery technology.

LNP delivery technology

On February 28, 2022 and April 4, 2023, we filed patent infringement lawsuits in the United States against Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, respectively, seeking compensation for their unlicensed use of our patented technologies in their COVID-19 mRNA-LNP vaccines. It is well established in the scientific literature that the most significant technological hurdle to developing and deploying medicines using mRNA is engineering a safe and effective way to deliver the mRNA to human cells. Scientists at Arbutus and Genevant have spent years developing and refining LNP delivery technology, which has been licensed for various applications to many different third parties. Our and Genevant’s LNP technology relies on microscopic particles built from four carefully selected types of fat-like molecules to shelter and protect RNA molecules. With this technology, the RNA can travel through the human body to a target cell and through the target cell’s membrane before releasing the RNA. Without this crucial delivery technology, the RNA would quickly degrade in the body and be ineffective. We remain committed to taking all legal actions necessary to defend and protect our intellectual property.

 8

With respect to the Moderna lawsuit, the claim construction hearing occurred on February 8, 2024. On April 3, 2024, the court provided its claim construction ruling in which it construed the disputed claim terms and agreed with our position on most of the disputed claim terms. A trial date for the Moderna lawsuit in the United States has been set for September 24, 2025. On March 3, 2025, we announced that, along with Genevant, we have filed five international lawsuits against Moderna in connection with their use of our LNP technology in their COVID-19 mRNA-LNP