LONDON, April 1, 2026, 15:54 BST
- Shionogi bumped its stake in ViiV Healthcare up to 21.7%. GSK hung onto its 78.3% majority, and Pfizer is out. 1
- GSK picked up a $250 million special dividend from the deal, while the move also cleared an accounting liability tied to Pfizer’s exit right. 1
- China cleared GSK’s Exdensur for asthma and, on March 30, also agreed to review the company’s hepatitis B candidate, bepirovirsen. 2
GSK on Wednesday wrapped up changes to the structure of its HIV unit ViiV Healthcare. Japan’s Shionogi raised its stake to 21.7% as Pfizer exited the partnership entirely. GSK retains a majority holding at 78.3%. 1
Timing is crucial here. HIV remains a cornerstone for GSK, and Chief Executive Luke Miels is gunning for annual sales topping 40 billion pounds by 2031. For 2025, GSK reported HIV sales up 11% to 7.7 billion pounds. Miels is eyeing 2026 as a launch-heavy stretch, promising quicker development cycles and sharper operational focus. 3
ViiV handed Shionogi $2.125 billion in newly issued shares, wiping out Pfizer’s 11.7% stake in the process. Pfizer walked away with $1.875 billion. GSK pocketed a $250 million special dividend—paid in sterling—and noted that closing the deal erased an accounting liability tied to Pfizer’s exit right. 1
Back in January, when the deal was announced, ViiV Chair David Redfern pitched it as a move to “simplify ViiV’s shareholder structure” so the group could continue collaborating with Shionogi on long-acting HIV drugs for both treatment and prevention. Shionogi, for its part, held onto a single board seat, occupied by John Keller. 4
It’s not only ViiV’s ownership that’s drawing attention. Back in February, the unit reported promising early results for VH184 and VH499—two HIV drug candidates—with data backing the idea of twice-yearly dosing. That’s a central goal for GSK as the company looks to extend its HIV lineup ahead of looming patent expiries. 5
ViiV is stacking its current lineup against competitors’ treatments, too. At February’s CROI HIV conference, the company rolled out 96-week results: Dovato showed lower rates of steatotic liver disease—fat accumulating in the liver—compared with Biktarvy among adults with controlled HIV. 6
The ownership shift follows a flurry of activity for GSK in China. March 30 saw Chinese regulators clear Exdensur, the company’s twice-yearly asthma injection. That same day, officials also agreed to review bepirovirsen, GSK’s experimental therapy targeting chronic hepatitis B. 2
GSK’s Kaivan Khavandi described the China approval for Exdensur as “an important advance” for patients dealing with severe asthma. The company’s bepirovirsen submission, though, targets a far bigger population. GSK estimates around 75 million people in China are affected by chronic hepatitis B. The drug is designed to deliver a functional cure, so key virus markers would remain undetectable even after therapy ends. 2
Still, risks remain. Back in February, Miels called for GSK to “accelerate what we have” and pursue “smart business development,” even with patent expiries threatening the HIV division. The company is aiming for 3% to 5% sales growth in 2026, but vaccines and general medicines may stagnate or slip, and bepirovirsen has yet to win approval anywhere. 7
Wednesday’s ViiV close hands GSK a streamlined setup around a business that generated 7.7 billion pounds last year, right as the company turns up the pressure on HIV, respiratory, and liver franchises to drive results. Sheena Berry, healthcare analyst at Quilter Cheviot, described Miels’s broader February guidance as “steady and credible”—but now comes the wait to see if the pipeline actually delivers approvals and sales fast enough. 3
