GSK grows pipeline with 35Pharma takeover, Frontier deal
The steady stream of M&A deals in pharma this year has continued with the news that GSK has agreed to buy Canada's 35Pharma and its drug candidate for pulmonary hypertension (PH) for $950 million.
The acquisition – the first made by GSK under new chief executive Luke Miels – came shortly after the company licensed a pair of siRNA therapeutics from China's Frontier Biotech for $40 million upfront and up to $963 million in success-based milestone payments.
35Pharma's lead development programme is HS235, an activin receptor-targeting fusion protein that has completed phase 1 healthy volunteer clinical trials in Canada and is being prepared to start studies in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and PH due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
GSK said that HS235 could be a "best-in-class" therapy for PH that sidesteps the risk of bleeding, a limitation of current activin-targeting therapies for the progressive, life-shortening disease. It also has potential for broader applications, as the molecule offers "the potential for broad metabolic benefits, including fat-selective weight loss, preservation of lean mass, and improved insulin sensitivity."
The first and only approved activin-directed therapy for PH currently is MSD's Winrevair (sotatercept), which was launched in 2024 and achieved impressive sales of $1.4 billion last year on the back of its position as the drug for PAH that addresses the underlying mechanism behind the disease, rather than simply treating its symptoms.
PH is a progressive, life-shortening disease marked by high blood pressure in the lungs, leading to breathlessness, fatigue, and chest pain, and generally resulting in heart failure. It affects approximately 82 million people worldwide across multiple disease forms, but treatment options remain limited, and the five-year survival rate is only around 50%.
GSK's chief scientific officer, Tony Wood, said HS235 seems to offer protective effects on vascular function, alongside benefits on fat-derived markers of metabolism and inflammation, that could give GSK multiple shots on goal in its RI&I (respiratory, immunology and inflammation) pipeline.
The drug has the potential to "achieve broader coverage across the metabolic, inflammatory, vascular, and fibrotic drivers of multiple chronic diseases that affect the lung, liver, and kidney," he added.
New Frontier alliance
There isn't much detail available on the agreement with Nanjing-based Frontier, which covers one siRNA candidate in early clinical testing in China and another in late-stage preclinical development that will slot into GSK's RI&I portfolio and have potential in "multiple kidney diseases."
GSK has global rights to the two drugs and will take responsibility for further development once the phase 1 trial and investigational new drug (IND) studies for the second candidate are completed.
The UK-headquartered pharma group needs to build its R&D pipeline as it prepares for a looming patent cliff in HIV medicines sold through its ViiV Healthcare subsidiary – notably for dolutegravir-based therapies Tivicay/Triumeq – as well as the uncertain impact of an increasingly vaccine-sceptic operating environment in the US.
When Miels moved up to the top job at GSK from his earlier role as chief commercial officer, he said a key priority was to accelerate pipeline development through M&A and licensing deals, particularly in oncology, respiratory, and immunology/inflammation, as the company pitches toward a target of growing its annual revenues from £32.7 billion last year to £40 billion in 2031.
