GSK has found another potential way to treat cardiometabolic disease with a modality close to the pharma’s heart—oligonucleotides.
The British drugmaker is paying $55 million upfront to China’s SiranBio for a phase 1-stage therapy aimed at metabolic and vascular disease. The drug, dubbed SA030, targets activin receptor-like kinase 7 (ALK7), a protein that is believed to have a role in the holy grail of obesity treatment: reducing abdominal fat while preserving lean mass.
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is currently investigating whether cutting ALK7 production with a gene silencing drug can be used to treat obesity. SiranBio pointed out in this morning’s release that reducing abdominal fat by targeting ALK7 could in turn improve insulin sensitivity, blood lipid profile and reduce fat cell-driven inflammation.
The Suzhou, China-based biotech said that preclinical work on its candidate has evidenced a “differentiated, long-acting profile for SA030 that could address the underlying inflammation associated with cardiometabolic risk through adipocyte (fat cell)-directed delivery and a low-frequency dosing schedule.”
So far, SiranBio has taken the oligonucleotide into a phase 1 study to test its tolerability and pharmacokinetics in patients with overweight or obesity. The plan is for the biotech to complete the phase 1 trial before handing over the drug to GSK.
In return for the rights to SA030 outside Greater China, GSK is paying the $55 million upfront and is liable for up to $1 billion in milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties if SA030 makes it to market.
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GSK’s oligonucleotide pipeline is led by bepirovirsen, a collaboration with Ionis Pharmaceuticals that is now in a pair of phase 3 trials as a potential “functional cure” for hepatitis B virus infection. The oligo portfolio also includes a collaboration with Arrowhead for fatty liver disease, various assets acquired from Wave Life Sciences and a nonexclusive license to Elsie Biotechnologies’ platform.
Last October, GSK paid $85 million upfront to Empirico for the rights to a siRNA oligonuceleotide dubbed EMP-012 that’s already in a phase 1 study for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Kaivan Khavandi, head of respiratory, immunology and inflammation R&D at GSK, said that SiranBio’s SA030 would “benefit from GSK’s extensive expertise in oligonucleotide therapeutics.”
“Cardiometabolic disease is the leading cause of death in most patients with chronic inflammatory conditions affecting the liver, lung and kidney,” Khavandi continued. “This risk is driven by multiple factors, so novel complementary approaches are urgently needed.”
“SA030 builds on our emerging pipeline targeting inflammation, fibrosis and vascular drivers of disease, and may help improve outcomes for patients,” Khavandi added.
As an oligonucleotide, SA030 has a distinct mechanism from the current crop of GLP-adjacent drugs being developed to treat obesity. It means GSK is hoping that SA030 could also open up the possibility of combination regimens with other weight loss or diabetes treatments.
GSK has been avoiding the Big Pharma arms race to get weight loss drugs to market. Instead, the London-based drugmaker’s strategy has been focused on the cardiometabolic diseases associated with obesity. As well as the deal with Arrowhead, this has also involved paying $1.2 billion upfront a year ago for Boston Pharmaceuticals’ late-stage liver disease candidate.
