Dive Brief:
- GSK is scooping up a promising experimental medicine for a dangerous type of high blood pressure through a $950 million acquisition of private Canadian drugmaker 35Pharma.
- The drug, HS235, has already completed Phase 1 testing in healthy volunteers and, according to GSK, should soon enter studies focused on either pulmonary arterial hypertension or a different pulmonary hypertension caused by a certain kind of heart failure. The company added that this medicine has potential to fight cardiovascular disease, deliver metabolic benefits and offer a lower risk of bleeding — a key limitation of current PH treatments.
- HS235 is a so-called activin signaling inhibitor, designed to fight the over-proliferation of cells that can thicken blood vessel walls. This drug class has already seen success; Merck & Co. won approval for one member, Winrevair, in 2024, and chalked up sales of more than $1.4 billion from it last year. Merck is looking to expand its usage as well.
Dive Insight:
GSK’s new CEO Luke Miels appears to be moving quickly to bulk up the company’s pipeline after taking over the top job from Emma Walmsley at the beginning of the year. The 35Pharma deal comes on the heels of a $2.2 billion takeover of allergy drug maker Rapt Therapeutics announced late last month.
Miels is trying to address investor concerns about GSK’s performance that haunted much of Walmsley’s tenure. His job will be made easier by a turnaround that started last year, helped by critical approvals of medicines for multiple myeloma and asthma. The British drugmaker is also bullish on an experimental hepatitis treatment that recently succeeded in two Phase 3 trials.
GSK’s stock, which was little changed over the four-year period from February 2021 to February 2025, has been on an upward climb. It jumped 56% over the past 12 months, buoyed by a strong earnings report issued on Feb. 4.
Speaking that day to investors and analysts, Miels said he saw a clear path to improving value for shareholders in the future. A key part of the plan was “smart” business development. “To accelerate the pipeline we need to have more scientific courage and be more agile to capitalize on opportunities when we see them,” Miels said.
On Wednesday, GSK quoted forecasts predicting that the pulmonary hypertension market will grow to $18 billion by 2032, with half the revenue coming from activin signaling inhibitors like the drug in development at 35Pharma. HS235’s potential to trigger weight loss with preservation of lean mass and other benefits, such as improved insulin sensitivity, may set it apart, GSK argued.
