Theravance Biopharma sells remaining Trelegy royalty interest to GSK for US$225 million

UK —Theravance Biopharma has agreed to sell its remaining royalty interest in the asthma and COPD inhaler Trelegy Ellipta to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for US$225 million in cash.

This deal marks the final step in Theravance’s long-standing financial involvement with the drug, which originated from a 2002 collaboration between the two companies.

Under that agreement, Theravance contributed its long-acting beta agonist assets in exchange for royalties and milestone payments on products like Trelegy.

This latest transaction follows a major sale in 2022, when Theravance sold the majority of its Trelegy royalty rights to Royalty Pharma for approximately US$1.31 billion upfront, with potential additional milestone payments of up to US$150 million expected in 2025 and 2026, contingent upon meeting sales targets.

Despite that sale, Theravance retained rights to receive 85% of Trelegy royalties on sales from 2029 onward outside the U.S., and from 2031 in the U.S.

The current sale to GSK converts Theravance’s remaining royalty interest into immediate cash, providing “immediate value” to shareholders, according to CEO Rick Winningham.

With the sale, Theravance anticipates that its total lifetime value from Trelegy will reach about US$1.52 billion.

The company’s strategy has been to maximize shareholder value by balancing upfront payments with retained future royalties and milestones, a plan Winningham says is further validated by this latest agreement with GSK.

Now that it has divested its Trelegy royalties, Theravance is focusing on its other key assets.

The company has a 35% sales stake in Yupelri, a nebulized bronchodilator for COPD developed in partnership with Viatris, which generated US$15.4 million in revenue for Theravance in the first quarter of 2025.

Additionally, the US$225 million cash infusion from GSK will support the ongoing development of ampreloxetine, a treatment candidate for symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, which is currently in a Phase 3 clinical trial.

Theravance is still recovering from significant setbacks in 2021, when three failed clinical trials forced the company to reduce its workforce by about 75%, or roughly 270 employees.

Today, its revenue primarily depends on Yupelri sales and remaining Trelegy payments from Royalty Pharma.

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