GSK To Strengthen Specialty Medicines and Respiratory Pipeline With $2B BELLUS Health Acquisition

Author: Vandana Singh | April 18, 2023 06:18am

• GSK Plc (NYSE:GSK) has agreed to acquire the late-stage biopharmaceutical company BELLUS Health Inc (NASDAQ:BLU) for $14.75 a share in cash, representing a total equity value of around $2.0 billion (£1.6 billion).
• The pharmaceutical giant said the deal would provide access to camlipixant, a treatment for refractory chronic cough in phase 3 development.
• Following the anticipated regulatory approval and launch of camlipixant in 2026, the company's acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share from 2027 and potentially deliver significant sales through 2031 and beyond.
• "This proposed acquisition complements our portfolio of specialty medicines and builds on our expertise in respiratory therapies," Chief Commercial Officer Luke Miels said.
• "The acquisition of BELLUS is highly synergistic with GSK's expertise in respiratory medicines and is further supported by GSK's leading R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization capabilities," he added.
• In December 2021, BELLUS announced data from the SOOTHE phase 2b trial, indicating that it met its primary endpoint for the 50 mg and 200 mg twice-daily doses. 
• Based on these data, BELLUS initiated the CALM phase 3 development program consisting of the CALM-1 and CALM-2 trials, with data anticipated in H2 2024 and 2025, respectively. 
• BELLUS announced data from a Phase 1 study evaluating QD (once-daily) formulation for camlipixant.
• The once-daily extended-release formulation demonstrated equivalent bioavailability to the twice-daily immediate-release formulation.
• The extended-release formulation was well tolerated, and no taste-related adverse events were reported.
• Price Action: BLU shares are up 97.7% at $14.35 during the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.

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