British pharmaceutical company GSK announced Monday it has formed a strategic partnership with Hong Kong-based Sino Biopharmaceutical to fast-track the introduction of its experimental hepatitis B medication bepirovirsen to mainland China’s market.
The collaboration represents GSK’s second major partnership with a Chinese drug company, following a previous $500 million agreement with Jiangsu Hengrui to develop as many as twelve new medications. Through this new arrangement, Sino’s subsidiary Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical (CTTQ) will buy bepirovirsen from GSK under an initial contract spanning five and a half years, with the possibility of extension if both companies agree.
The experimental medication bepirovirsen represents GSK’s innovative approach to fighting hepatitis B through a triple-action strategy: preventing viral DNA from replicating, reducing hepatitis B surface antigen concentrations in patients’ bloodstreams, and strengthening immune system responses to achieve more durable disease management.
