GSK Buys Liver Drug For Up To $2 Billion To Boost Pipeline

GSK Plc agreed to buy an experimental medicine to treat liver disease for as much as $2 billion as the UK drugmaker seeks to shore up its pipeline of new medicines.  

The treatment developed by Boston Pharmaceuticals is ready to enter the last stage of clinical trials, GSK said Wednesday. The drug may have blockbuster potential, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s John Murphy.

GSK shares have struggled amid concern over few potential blockbuster drugs in the pipeline compared to rivals as some of its top medicines face patent expirations. There is growing interest in liver disease, with both Eli Lilly & Co and Novo Nordisk A/S working on treating the condition. 

GSK was little changed in early London trading. The stock has been roughly flat since the start of the year. 

The liver can get damaged by a build-up of fat or from alcohol use, and there are few treatment options. The medicine GSK is buying, called efimosfermin, could help with both. For now it’s in development for damage caused by fat — a disease known by the acronym MASH. 

Lilly and Novo are both testing their blockbuster obesity and diabetes drugs, known as GLP-1s, to treat fatty livers. Lilly also entered into a separate licensing deal for the disease with OliX earlier this year. 

While GSK isn’t directly tackling obesity, it’s investing in treatments for inflammatory conditions that often overlap with excess weight. The new medicine should have benefits beyond any GLP-1 therapy patients will be taking, the drugmaker said. 

Mid-stage trial data on efimosfermin showed a once a month injected dose rapidly reversed liver fibrosis and stopped it progressing.

GSK said it will pay $1.2 billion upfront for efimosfermin, with potential for additional milestone payments totaling $800 million. 

Boston Pharmaceuticals originally licensed the medicine from Novartis AG in 2020, with GSK now on the hook for success-based milestone payments and tiered royalties to the Swiss drugmaker.