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GSK plc has entered into an exclusive strategic collaboration with Sino Biopharmaceutical (SBP Group), through its subsidiary Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group (CTTQ), to accelerate bepirovirsen in mainland China at launch.
Bepirovirsen is a potential first-in-class treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) under priority regulatory review in China. CTTQ is a market leader in hepatitis B in China with one of the country’s most comprehensive liver disease portfolios and a broad commercial footprint covering more than 5,000 medical centres across care settings. CTTQ has played a significant role in advancing the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B in China.
The collaboration combines GSK innovation with CTTQ’s local scale and in-market execution to reach more patients, more quickly. Under the agreement, CTTQ will be responsible for importation, distribution, hospital access, and promotional and non-promotional activities for bepirovirsen in mainland China. GSK will remain the marketing authorisation holder and retain responsibility for regulatory, quality, pharmacovigilance and global medical strategy. The agreement also grants GSK the ability to review certain early-stage pipeline assets of the SBP Group to evaluate the potential for collaboration opportunities outside China.
Chronic hepatitis B is a national health priority in China. The latest National Action Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis (2025-2030) has set out functional cure as a treatment goal for Hepatitis B.
Bepirovirsen was granted Breakthrough Therapy designation in China in August 2021 and accepted for Priority Review in April 2026. The regulatory submission is supported by positive results from the B-Well 1 and B-Well 2 phase III trials, which demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful functional cure rates.
Under the terms of the agreement, CTTQ will purchase bepirovirsen from GSK under agreed supply terms for an initial term of 5.5 years.
