After years of picking up royalties on GSK’s asthma and COPD inhaler Trelegy, Theravance Biopharma is opting to sell its remaining financial interest to GSK in exchange for a cash reward of $225 million.
With that, Theravance expects its lifetime value from the inhaler to come out to $1.52 billion. The drug stems from a 2002 collaboration between GSK and Theravance, in which Theravance handed over its long-acting beta agonist assets in exchange for royalties and milestone payments.
The new one-time cash infusion from GSK was in the interest of churning out “immediate value” for shareholders, CEO Rick Winningham said in a June 2 release, marking the first outcome of the ongoing efforts of a strategic review committee brought together in 2024 to hunt for strategic alternatives.
It comes after the company offloaded the majority of its Trelegy royalty rights to Royalty Pharma in 2022 for an upfront payment of some $1.31 billion, with up to $150 million more to come in 2025 and 2026 if the inhaler meets certain sales goals. Thervance still has the right to bring in 85% of Trelegy royalties for sales of the drug from and after 2029 outside of the U.S. and 2031 in the U.S.
“Our decision to retain future Trelegy royalties and potential milestones in the 2022 transaction reflected our confidence in the product's enduring value and commitment to maximize the value of the royalty interest for our shareholders,” Winningham explained, adding that its GSK agreement “further reflects this strategy.”
With Trelegy off its hands, the company is turning its full attention to Viatris-partnered nebulized bronchodilator Yupelri for COPD, which it has a 35% sales stake in that came out to $15.4 million in first-quarter earnings for Theravance. The GSK cash will also be used to continue to develop symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension prospect ampreloxetine, which is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 trial.
Theravance is still rebuilding after major setbacks in 2021, when a series of three failed trials left it to cut 75% of its staff, about 270 employees. As it stands, its revenue comes entirely from Yupelri and remaining Trelogy payments from Royalty.