GSK buys liver disease drug for up to $2b
GSK said in a statement it would pay US company Boston Pharmaceuticals $1.2 billion up front, and as much as $800 million in further success-based payments for efimosfermin.
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline says efimosfermin has the potential to become a "new standard-of-care" for treating liver disease. (AFP)
AFP .
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LONDON - British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline announced Wednesday the acquisition of a drug under development to treat a common form of liver disease, in a deal worth up to $2 billion (sh7.3 trillion in Ugandan currency).
GSK said in a statement it would pay US company Boston Pharmaceuticals $1.2 billion up front, and as much as $800 million in further success-based payments for efimosfermin.
The drug is ready for final-stage trials and is designed to help treat steatotic liver disease (SLD), which affects up to five percent of the world's population.
GSK said efimosfermin has the potential to become a "new standard-of-care" for treating the disease, which has "limited therapeutic options for patients".
SLD involves fat buildup in the liver, which can lead to severe damage and may ultimately require a transplant.
Another form of the disease can develop when the liver is damaged by alcohol use, which the drug may be able to treat.
It "could save the US healthcare system between $40-100 billion over the next two decades" by preventing the disease progressing, GSK said.