Forbion Capital Partners. (1/9/24). "Press Release: Forbion Portfolio Company Aiolos Bio, Inc. (Aiolos) to Be Acquired by GSK for up to $1.4 Billion".

	Organisation	Forbion Capital Partners (NL)
	Group	Forbion (Group)
	Organisation 2	Aiolos Bio Inc.
	Group	GSK (Group)
	Product	AIO-001 (Aiolos Bio / Hengrui Pharmaceuticals)
	Product 2	venture capital
	Index term	Aiolos Bio–GSK: investment, 202401– acquisition $1b upfront + $400m milestones
	Index term 2	Inversago Pharma–Novo Group: investment, 202308– acquisition up to $1.075b in cash by Novo Nordisk A/S
	Person	Joustra, Wouter (Forbion 202007– General Partner at Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund before Kempen)

Forbion portfolio company Aiolos Bio, Inc. (Aiolos) is to be acquired by GSK for up to $1.4 billion, including $1 billion upfront and up to $400 million in milestone payments. You can find GSK’s announcement with further details of the acquisition here.

This follows a $245 million Series A financing in Aiolos in October 2023, co-led by Forbion, alongside Atlas Venture, Bain Capital Life Sciences, and Sofinnova Investments with additional investment from RA Capital Management.

Forbion General Partner, Wouter Joustra, who sits on the Board of Aiolos said of today’s news: "We are proud to be a founding investor in Aiolos Bio and to support their pipeline of novel medicines for respiratory conditions. Aiolos Bio is testament to the Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund strategy, where we partner with experienced management teams to bring clinical-stage assets to the next value inflection point. As a global leader in the development of respiratory medicines, GSK is an ideal partner to further advance Aiolos's innovative therapies. We are optimistic about the positive impact this collaboration could have on the lives of patients suffering from respiratory and inflammatory conditions."

This acquisition is the fourth worth $1 bn+ for a Forbion portfolio company in under a year: in May 2023, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire VectivBio for a consideration of approximately $1.2bn; in July 2023, Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Versanis Bio for up to $1.925 bn; and in August 2023, Novo Nordisk agreed to acquire Inversago Pharma for up to $1.075 bn.

***ENDS***

About Forbion

Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Boston. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space. Forbion manages €3 billion across multiple fund strategies that cover all stages of (bio-) pharmaceutical drug development. Forbion’s current team consists of over 30 life sciences investment professionals that have built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with investments in over 95 companies across 8 funds. Forbion’s record of sourcing, building and guiding life sciences companies has resulted in many breakthrough therapies and valuable exits. Recent portfolio company successes include Inversago, Vectiv Bio, Versanis, Gyroscope, NewAmsterdam Pharma (NASDAQ: NAMS), Engene (NASDAQ: ENGN), and Replimune (NASDAQ: REPL). Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients. The firm is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Forbion operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany.

For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com

About Aiolos Bio

Founded in 2023, Aiolos Bio is a clinical-stage, private, biopharmaceutical company dedicated to revolutionizing the treatment landscape for respiratory disease. The company launched with a $245M Series A financing round, co-led by Atlas Venture, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion, and Sofinnova Investments with additional investment from RA Capital Management.

About AIO-001

AIO-001 is a novel monoclonal antibody with half-life extension and differentiated potency that binds to the human thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) ligand to inhibit TSLP signaling. TSLP has a validated, central role in driving inflammation, including in asthma.

About GSK

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. Find out more at gsk.com.

Record changed: 2024-01-30