Having just entered into drug discovery partnerships with Surface Oncology and Adrestia, GSK is paying £34m upfront to team up with Sosei Heptares to evaluate treatments for gastrointestinal immune disorders.

Jörn Aldag, who has over 20 years of leadership experience in the life sciences industry, including CEO of gene therapy pioneer uniQure, tells Scrip that the research carried at the world-class Italian research institute SR-Tiget.

The Japanese firm with R&D operations in the UK is conducting a search to find "a potentially transformative acquisition," helped by a significant financing round.