GSK has agreed to buy an Anglo-American asthma drug maker in a deal worth more than £1billion as it looks to expand its treatment of respiratory diseases.
The British pharma giant will pay around £800million upfront for Aiolos Bio and a further £300million as certain regulatory milestones are reached.
Aiolos owns the rights to the antibody known as AIO-001, which is used to treat adults with severe asthma.
While the drug is still working its way through medical trials, AIO-001 looks to reduce the need for inhalers and treat the most extreme cases of asthma.
Respiratory treatments have become an increasingly important part of GSK’s portfolio as patents expire and it seeks to bolster the strength of its pipeline of drugs in development.
Fighting fit: GSK, led by Emma Walmsley (pictured) will pay around £800m upfront for Aiolos Bio and a further £300m as certain milestones are reached
Medicines and vaccines related to respiration generated about £11billion in sales for GSK in 2022.
Aiolos, which is based in San Francisco and London, is just the latest acquisition by GSK under chief executive Emma Walmsley in the past year.
Recent deals include the £1.5billion takeover of chronic cough treatment maker Bellus.
AIO-001 was originally developed by Chinese firm Jiangsu Hengrui but its rights were exclusively licensed to Aiolos.
Founded just last year by scientists Khurem Farooq and Jane Hughes, Aiolos raised £193million in financing from investors including Bain Capital and Atlas Venture.
The company’s main focus has been on developing therapies that help with respiratory and inflammatory conditions.
Aiolos chief executive Farooq said: ‘By uniting with GSK, a leader with decades of experience developing respiratory therapies and a shared commitment to improving patient lives, we’re confident that we can rapidly advance this therapy in the hopes of significantly reducing the treatment burden for patients.’
GSK chief scientific officer Tony Wood said the Aiolos takeover ‘could expand the reach of our current respiratory biologics portfolio to the 40 per cent of severe asthma patients with low type-2 inflammation where treatment options are still needed’.
GSK shares rose 1.8 per cent, or 27.2p, to 1576.2p.
