GSK has bought the rights to SiranBio’s metabolic oligonucleotide therapy for up to $1bn, building on the company’s efforts to indirectly break into the weight loss arena.
Through this exclusive agreement, GSK will secure the global rights to the Chinese biotechs early-stage, potential first-in-disease small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy, SA030, outside of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
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In exchange, the UK-based pharma company has handed over an upfront sum, while committing to pay up to $1.005bn in potential milestones to SiranBio. If the drug makes it to market, the biotech will also be eligible for tiered royalties on global net sales.
SA030 is a long-acting, activin receptor-like kinase 7 (ALK7)-targeting therapy, which is designed to reduce a patient’s cardiometabolic risk by reducing abdominal fat. According to SiranBio, the drug also preserves muscle mass, potentially addressing a recent point of contention for the blockbuster glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) class.
SiranBio is also touting the broad clinical potential of ALK7 inhibition, which the company says could offer a complementary approach to drugs like GLP-1RAs or sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors commonly used to treat cardiometabolic indications like obesity or type 2 diabetes. The target also deviates from the glucagon, GLP-1, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP)-based combination approaches that many other pharma companies are pursuing.
However, GSK is not the only company betting on ALK7 as the next new target in the weight loss arena, as Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is also developing a drug harnessing this approach. ARO-ALK7, its RNA interference (RNAi) therapy, has already demonstrated promise alongside Eli Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) in a Phase I/IIa trial (NCT06937203).
GSK’s obesity efforts
GSK’s SiranBio deal comes as the company intensifies its efforts to break into the weight loss market, alongside companies like Eli Lilly, which recently joined the $1tn market cap club.
While GSK is not looking to enter the increasingly crowded GLP-1RA space, the company is betting on alternative mechanisms designed to address the downstream health impacts of obesity, such as liver dysfunction.
Currently, the company is exploring the promise of efimosfermin alfa, its metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) therapy, through the Phase III ZENITH programme (NCT07221227; NCT07221188), which is ongoing as per ClinicalTrials.gov.
To further boost its pipeline in this area, the UK-based pharma company also outlaid $950m to acquire 35Pharma – thus absorbing the company’s lead pulmonary hypertension (PH) asset, HS235, which GSK’s CSO Tony Wood has touted for its potential metabolic health benefits, such as “fat-driven weight loss”.
GSK’s efforts come amid the backdrop of a booming obesity market, with a report from GlobalData, parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, estimating that sales in the sector will hit $206bn in 2031 alone.
As the market evolves, GlobalData analysts predict that non-GLP-1RA therapies such as calcitonin receptor-targeting drugs will gain a notable market share in the years to come.
