14th May 2025 09:13
(Alliance News) - GSK announced on Wednesday that it has agreed with Boston Pharmaceuticals to buy steatotic liver disease medication efimosfermin alfa.
The London-based pharmaceutical company said efimosfermin, Boston Pharmaceuticals' lead asset, is a "[phase 3]-ready, potential best-in-class, investigational specialty medicine" for the treatment and prevention of steatotic liver disease.
GSK said it will pay USD1.2 billion upfront for efimosfermin, with the potential for a further USD800 million aggregate in additional success-based milestone payments.
The company said efimosfermin is a novel, once-monthly fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analog therapeutic in clinical development for the treatment of two forms of SLD: metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis or MASH, including cirrhosis, and future development in alcohol-related liver disease or ALD.
GSK added that SLD represents an area of significant unmet medical need with limited therapeutic options for patients, who make up approximately 5% of the global population.
Furthermore, GSK said that recent phase 2 trial data for efimosfermin showed that monthly subcutaneous doses of efimosfermin rapidly and significantly reversed liver fibrosis and stopped its progression, with a manageable tolerability profile, in patients with biopsy-confirmed moderate-to-advanced MASH.
"The FGF21 class has shown some of the most exciting data in MASH including first-in-disease evidence of cirrhosis reversal, and efimosfermin has the potential to define a new standard-of-care with its monthly dosing and tolerability profile," commented Chief Scientific Officer Tony Wood. "Efimosfermin will significantly expand our hepatology pipeline and provide us the opportunity to develop a new potential best-in-class medicine with first launch expected in 2029.
"It complements GSK'990, also in development for ALD and MASH, offering GSK options to develop both monotherapy and potential combinations to improve patient outcomes."
GSK shares were up 1.0% at 1,371.00 pence in London on Wednesday morning.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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