GSK plc announced that it has completed the acquisition of Aiolos Bio (Aiolos), a clinicalstage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing the unmet treatment needs of patients with respiratory and inflammatory conditions.

As previously announced, the acquisition of Aiolos includes AIO-001, a potentially best-in-class, long-acting antithymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) monoclonal antibody ready to enter phase II clinical development for the treatment of adult patients with asthma. AIO-001 could expand GSK’s respiratory biologics portfolio to potentially reach the 40% of severe asthma patients with low T2 inflammation (a type of overactive immune response associated with asthma).

AIO-001 has the potential to be administered every six months due to its high potency and long half-life, which could redefine the standard-of-care.

Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer, GSK, said: “Given the limited treatment options for asthma patients with low T2 inflammation, we look forward to using our deep respiratory expertise to potentially offer a long-acting biologic to a broader portion of the 315 million patients living with asthma.”

GSK has an industry-leading portfolio of marketed and investigational medicines to address a range of respiratory diseases, including biologics aimed at treating the subset of asthma patients with high levels of eosinophils or high T2 inflammation. Adding AIO-001 could expand GSK’s portfolio to include a biologic for severe asthma patients with low T2 inflammation.

Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will pay a $1 billion upfront payment and up to $400 million in certain success-based regulatory milestone payments. In addition, GSK will also be responsible for success-based milestone payments as well as tiered royalties owed to Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hengrui). AIO001 was exclusively licensed to Aiolos for development and commercialisation rights outside of Greater China by Hengrui.