GSK sharpens focus on pulmonary hypertension as obesity drives future health cost pressures
Pulmonary hypertension, a life‑shortening disease that affects more than 80 million people worldwide, sits at the centre of GSK’s latest US$950m bet on cardiometabolic medicine.
According to Reuters, GSK has agreed to buy Canadian biotech 35Pharma for US$950m in cash, acquiring 100 percent of its equity and gaining access to its clinical and investigational assets for cardiopulmonary diseases, heart failure and obesity.
Pharmaceutical Technology reported that the “jewel in 35Pharma’s crown” is HS235, a lead therapy designed to treat pulmonary hypertension (PH).
Reuters said pulmonary hypertension is marked by high blood pressure in the lungs and can be life‑shortening, with current treatments including Merck’s injectable Winrevair.
Pharmaceutical Technology reported that HS235 has already been studied in a Phase I trial in healthy volunteers who were overweight or living with obesity (NCT06714825).
The therapy acts by selectively inhibiting activins and growth differentiation factors (GDFs) associated with PH pathology, using a similar mechanism to Winrevair (sotatercept).
HS235 is designed to reduce binding to bone morphogenetic proteins 9 and 10 (BMP9 and 10), which have been linked to negative treatment effects such as bleeding and blood vessel breakage.
Pharmaceutical Technology noted that Winrevair carries a label warning for severe bleeding events, and GSK says HS235’s enhanced selectivity could address some current PH treatment limitations.
Reuters reported that HS235 is in early‑stage development to treat pulmonary hypertension in obese patients with a heart condition known as preserved ejection fraction, as well as in patients who have already received treatment for pulmonary hypertension.
In studies of obese mice with preserved ejection fraction, the drug selectively reduced fat mass and improved heart function.
If clinical trials are successful, the injectable could be given once every four weeks or potentially less often.
Pharmaceutical Technology reported that GSK’s chief scientific officer Tony Wood highlighted HS235’s potential to deliver “metabolic benefits clinically relevant to PH patients”, including fat‑driven weight loss, preservation of lean mass, improved insulin sensitivity, and reductions in inflammation and fat hormones.
GSK sees these factors as supporting the drug’s “clinical and commercial value”, noting estimates that 30–40 percent of PH patients are obese.
Further studies of HS235 in PH caused by heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH‑HFpEF) and in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are set to begin soon.
Alongside HS235, Pharmaceutical Technology reported that GSK will gain access to HS370, an Activin x GDF trap in IND‑enabling development for heart failure and obesity.
Bloomberg noted that the deal boosts GSK’s small pipeline of therapies for diseases affecting both the heart and metabolic systems, adding to its existing range of respiratory medicines.
According to Reuters, new CEO Luke Miels, who took over from Emma Walmsley last month, is pursuing bolt‑on deals to counter looming patent expiries for GSK’s top‑selling HIV drugs and to accelerate development of new medicines.
GSK intends to focus on downstream effects of obesity, such as liver and heart disease, because the obesity treatment market itself is becoming increasingly crowded.
Pharmaceutical Technology noted that the 35Pharma acquisition comes less than 24 hours after GSK signed a US$1bn licensing deal with Frontier BioSciences for silent interfering RNA (siRNA) therapies targeting kidney diseases.
GSK also agreed to buy RAPT Therapeutics for US$2.2bn, adding food allergy candidate ozureprubart to its investigational portfolio.
Bloomberg reported that GSK will pay US$950m in cash for 35Pharma and that the company hopes HS235 will be effective in treating pulmonary hypertension, which can lead to heart failure.
GSK shares were little changed in early London trading after the announcement, while Reuters said GSK shares have risen nearly 21 percent so far this year, staging a strong recovery versus several European rivals after a turbulent 2025.
