Today, GSK has announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Aiolos Bio (Aiolos), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing the unmet treatment needs of patients with respiratory and inflammatory conditions.
As previously announced, this acquisition includes AIO-001, a potentially leading long-acting anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) monoclonal antibody, set to enter phase II clinical development for adult asthma treatment. AIO-001 holds the potential to expand GSK’s respiratory biologics portfolio to potentially reach the 40% of severe asthma patients with low T2 inflammation, with the added benefit of being administered every six months due to its high potency and long half-life, potentially redefining the standard-of-care.
Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer at GSK, commented, “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.”
GSK’s robust portfolio of marketed and investigational medicines for respiratory diseases includes biologics targeting asthma patients with high eosinophil levels or high T2 inflammation. The addition of AIO-001 could further diversify GSK’s portfolio to include a biologic for severe asthma patients with low T2 inflammation.
Financially, GSK will pay a $1 billion upfront payment and up to $400 million in certain success-based regulatory milestone payments as part of the agreement. GSK will also be responsible for success-based milestone payments and tiered royalties owed to Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hengrui), which exclusively licensed AIO-001 to Aiolos for development and commercialization rights outside of Greater China.
