British pharmaceutical giant GSK announced Wednesday it will purchase Canadian biotechnology firm 35Pharma Inc for $950 million in cash, gaining access to a promising treatment for a serious lung condition.
This acquisition represents the second significant purchase made by GSK since Luke Miels took over as chief executive, following the company’s $2.2 billion agreement to acquire RAPT Therapeutics last month.
Through this transaction, GSK will obtain 35Pharma’s experimental medication designed to treat pulmonary hypertension, a deadly condition characterized by elevated blood pressure within the lungs that reduces patients’ life expectancy. This acquisition will strengthen GSK’s collection of respiratory treatments.
Earlier this week, the London-based pharmaceutical company also announced a separate $1 billion agreement to purchase worldwide development rights for two kidney disease therapies from Frontier Biotechnologies that use small interfering RNA technology.
