With 35Pharma buy, GSK sees ‘best-in-class’ competitor to Winrevair in PAH

GSK’s $950 million acquisition of Canada-based 35Pharma gives the pharma a clinical asset that could have safety advantages over Merck’s blockbuster hypertension drug Winrevair sotatercept.

The deal gives GSK plc (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK) activin-binding ligand trap HS235, which has completed a Phase I study in the hands of venture-backed 35Pharma Inc. Early clinical data showed target engagement, effects on hypertension biomarkers and fat mass, and a safety profile that included no “adverse effects of special interest” such as bleeding, telangiectasia or pericardial effusion, according to a December 2025 presentation at the Global Cardiovascular Clinical Trialists Forum in Washington, D.C...