May 11 (Reuters) – GSK said on Monday it had entered into a strategic collaboration with Hong Kong-listed Sino Biopharmaceutical to accelerate the launch of its hepatitis B treatment bepirovirsen in mainland China.
Under the agreement, GSK’s second deal with a Chinese pharmaceutical group after a $500 million deal with Jiangsu Hengrui to develop up to a dozen new medicines, Sino’s unit Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical (CTTQ) will purchase bepirovirsen from GSK for an initial term of five and a half years, which is extendable by mutual agreement.
Bepirovirsen is GSK’s experimental drug designed to tackle hepatitis B in three ways: by blocking viral DNA replication, lowering hepatitis B surface antigen levels in the blood, and boosting the immune response to help achieve longer-lasting control of the disease.
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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