GSK has reached an agreement to acquire 35Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company based in Canada, for $950 million, the two companies announced. The transaction brings cardiopulmonary assets into GSK’s portfolio and aligns with the drugmaker’s stated effort to expand its focus on diseases connected to obesity.
35Pharma’s lead candidate, HS235, is in early-stage development for multiple forms of pulmonary hypertension. According to statements from the companies involved, the drug’s mechanism may also offer metabolic advantages, including fat loss, though those benefits remain described as potential at this stage.
The deal is the latest acquisition executed while Luke Miels serves as chief executive of GSK. Company commentary highlights this transaction as part of a broader push to strengthen the drug pipeline under his leadership.
From a strategic perspective, the acquisition directly adds cardiopulmonary research and development capability to GSK’s existing therapeutic focus. The addition of HS235 gives the buyer an early-stage candidate aimed at pulmonary hypertension and a possible avenue into metabolic effects that companies link to obesity-related conditions.
Market observers will likely watch how GSK integrates 35Pharma’s programs and advances HS235 through development, but the companies’ public statements emphasize the potential of the candidate to address cardiopulmonary disease while also showing metabolic promise.
Sector and market implications
- Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology - adds early-stage cardiopulmonary assets to an established drugmaker.
- Healthcare - increases focus on therapies associated with obesity-related conditions.