GSK joins Flagship's flotilla of pharma partners

Flagship Pioneering has signed yet another strategic-level deal with a big pharma group, with GSK the latest to tap into its network of biotech companies in an alliance that could be worth more than $7 billion.

The front-end spend is a lot more modest, of course, with the two partners putting up $150 million between them to build a pipeline of 10 new medicines and vaccines, initially focusing on respiratory and immunological diseases.

Each of the 10 programmes could generate up to $720 million in upfront, development, and commercial milestones from GSK, along with preclinical funding and tiered royalties, if the company decides to opt in.

The partnership model is very close to an agreement between Flagship and Pfizer a year ago, also valued at around $7 billion and spanning 10 programmes. In June, Pfizer activated the first programme in the alliance – a discovery-stage effort in obesity – with Flagship's portfolio company ProFound Therapeutics.

In 2022, Novo Nordisk also tapped into Flagship's network, with the aim of generating between three and five research programmes within the first three years, although the terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

It has resulted in a pair of deals with portfolio companies Omega Therapeutics and Cellarity signed in January, focusing on obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), as well as a tie-up with Metaphore Biotechnologies for a pair of weight-loss programmes that could be worth up to $600 million.

Other similar partnerships have been signed with Samsung and Thermo Fisher Scientific to enable technologies for drug development and life sciences.

The GSK deal is another endorsement of Flagship's strategy of creating companies based on biopharma technology platforms, often putting its faith in high-risk ventures, to attract deep-pocketed partners. Flagship was behind the founding of mRNA specialist Moderna and is run by the biotech's co-founder Noubar Afeyan.

"Together with Flagship, we will use science and technology to deliver best-in-class innovation at pace," said Tony Wood, GSK's chief scientific officer.

"We look forward to partnering with the talented team at Flagship, and their ecosystem of bioplatform companies, to further accelerate our pipeline and discover practice-changing medicines and vaccines for patients," he added.

Earlier this month, Flagship raised $2.6 billion to support the development of around 25 startups operating in human health, sustainability, and artificial intelligence, with another $1 billion earmarked for "strategic partnerships."

Photo by Eddie Bugajewski on Unsplash