(Reuters) -GSK will pay about $1 billion for exclusive rights to further develop and commercialize Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)'s hepatitis B therapy, the British drugmaker said on Tuesday.
JNJ-3989 was initially developed by Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) and licensed to Johnson & Johnson-owned Janssen in 2018.
Exclusive rights to the therapy will fuel the expansion of GSK's own hepatitis B treatment, bepirovirsen, which is currently in late-stage development, the company said.
Hepatitis B, which affects an estimated 300 million people, is a life-threatening viral infection that attacks the liver and patients risk death from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Under the terms of the deal, GSK will make upfront and potential milestone-based payments to both Janssen and Arrowhead totalling about $1 billion.