GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) has struck a deal to acquire a drug to treat and prevent the progression of steatotic liver disease, poised for phase III clinical trials, for up to $2 billion.
The disease affects up to 5% of the global population, the FTSE 100 group says, and is an "area of significant unmet medical need with limited treatment options".
Buying the drug, named efimosfermin, from Boston Pharmaceuticals expands GSK's existing hepatology pipeline, with multiple development options and potential first launch in 2029.
GSK will pay $1.2 billion upfront, with potential for additional success-based milestone payments totalling $800 million.
It said efimosfermin is a novel, once-monthly fibroblast growth factor 21 analog therapeutic - in other words a lab-made version of a natural protein in the body that reduces liver scarring (fibrosis).
Given the medicine's direct antifibrotic mechanism of action, GSK said its existing data-driven insights from work in human genetics and disease phenotyping, it sees potential to treat more advanced stages of SLD and work with other drugs for other subsets of patients with SLD.