GSK acquires asthma specialist Aiolos Bio in $1.4bn deal

GSK has acquired Aiolos Bio in a deal worth up to $1.4billion (£1.1billion), the drug giant said on Thursday.

London-listed GSK said the takeover, which will see $1billion paid upfront followed by a further $400million in performance-linked payments, would unlock access to Aiolos’ long-acting anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin treatment.

Tony Wood, chief scientific officer at GSK, said: ‘Given the limited treatment options for asthma patients with low T2 inflammation, we look forward to using our deep respiratory expertise to potentially offer a long-acting biologic to a broader portion of the 315 million patients living with asthma.’

Opportunities: Tony Wood is the chief scientific officer at GSK

GSK shares were down 0.59 per cent or 9.8p to 1,658.20p on Thursday, having risen over 13 per cent in the last year.

The acquisition of Aiolos includes AIO-001, a long-acting anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin monoclonal antibody ready to enter phase II clinical development for the treatment of adult patients with asthma.

It also has the potential for additional indications, like chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, according to the duo.

Aiolos chief executive, Khurem Farooq, said: ‘We believe that this transaction speaks to the high potential of our long-acting anti-TSLP monoclonal antibody.

‘By uniting with GSK, we’re confident that we can rapidly advance this therapy in the hopes of significantly reducing the treatment burden for patients.’

Deal: It is hoped GSK’s acquisition of Aiolos Bio will help adult patients with asthma

Last month, GSK said it raked in sales of £30.3billion in the last year, thanks to the launch of a new vaccine and booming demand for cancer drugs.

The FTSE 100 group’s revenues jumped 5 per cent in 2023 as vaccine sales surged by 25 per cent, driven by a £3.4billion contribution from Shingrix, a vaccine for shingles.

Arexvy, a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine launched last year, generated over £1.2billion in revenues.

GSK expects its adjusted profit per share to increase by 6 to 9 per cent in 2024, on sales growth of 5 to 7 per cent, which is above forecasts.

Turnover from cancer drugs increased by over 20 per cent to £731million, driven by the uptake of Jemperli and Zejula, which target certain types of endometrial cancer.

Earlier this month, GSK’s treatment for hepatitis B was placed on a fast-track schedule by regulators in the US.

In a boost for the FTSE 100 pharma giant and boss Emma Walmsley, Bepirovirsen is likely to reach the market sooner than anticipated.

The Food and Drug Administration moved the treatment onto the expedited track following a request from GSK that the drug should be accelerated through the review process to ‘address an unmet medical need’.

Affecting around 300million worldwide, Chronic Hepatitis B is a viral liver infection which can sometimes be symptomless. But if left untreated it can cause liver damage and increase the risk of cancer.