GSK’s latest hepatology partnership is posing a less-asked question—how do you encourage the regression of patients’ liver fibrosis?
To find the answer, the British Big Pharma is working with Engitix to identify targets involved in this process. Engitix—which like GSK is based in London—will use its extracellular matrix platform and disease models to generate multi-omics data sets that could be taken into development.
Under the collaboration, GSK will have the option to license anything from those specific data sets to assays and targets that result from the work, with the pharma then taking the lead on further R&D and commercialization.
In return, GSK will transfer 44.5 million pounds ($59.5 million) in upfront and near-term payments to Engitix, with potentially 118 million pounds ($157.7 million) in milestone payments tied to each target.
GSK already has an asset in its pipeline that’s shown potential against liver fibrosis in the form of efimosfermin. The Big Pharma licensed the once-monthly FGF21 analog from Boston Therapeutics for $1.2 billion upfront a year ago. Meanwhile, GSK’s wider hepatology portfolio could soon be boosted if bepirovirsen, its “functional cure” for hepatitis B, bags an FDA approval in October.
Kaivan Khavandi, M.D., Ph.D., GSK’s head of respiratory, immunology and inflammation R&D, said in this morning’s release that the pharma is “excited to collaborate with Engitix to access their differentiated human biology platform.
“The ability to combine functional assays with rich multi-omics datasets complements our internal capabilities and network of collaborations in this space, supporting our work to develop differentiated, fibrosis-targeted medicines for patients,” Khavandi added.
Engitix is focused on the extracellular matrix (ECM), a non-cellular network in tissues and organs that both provides physical scaffolding for the cellular parts and plays a role starting processes like tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis. While once seen as merely a physical barrier to chemotherapy and immune cells, more recent studies have pointed to a potential role for the ECM in driving fibrosis and solid tumors.
The biotech touts its platform as a way to “integrate multi-omics and imaging data to decode the complexity of the extracellular matrix and its impact on disease.” This has been enough to convince Takeda to pen deals with the biotech in 2020 and 2022 for liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease, respectively.
Engitix raised a $54 million series A in 2022 and followed that up with a $25 million extension round at the start of this year. The company’s internal pipeline features programs for solid tumors, inflammation and advanced fibrosis.
Engitix CEO Giuseppe Mazza, Ph.D., said today’s deal with GSK is “highlights the unique capability of our ECM platform to capture the biology of fibrosis regression in human tissue.
“By combining our human-centric disease models with GSK’s development capabilities, we aim to identify and validate high-confidence targets with the potential to transform treatment for liver fibrosis,” Mazza added.