Chris Sheldon

Senior VP, Global Head Business Development at GSK

Speaker

Dr Chris Sheldon is Senior Vice President and Global Head of Business Development (BD), at GSK, based in the UK. He leads GSK’s global BD organisation, responsible for scouting, evaluating, transacting, and alliance-managing all external investment opportunities across the portfolio.

Chris and his team have led a number of high-profile strategic transactions, including the $2.2 billion acquisition of RAPT Therapeutics for ozureprubart, a long-acting antiimmunoglobulin E (IgE) monoclonal antibody in Phase IIb clinical development for prophylactic protection against food allergens; the $1.2 billion acquisition of Boston Pharmaceuticals for efimosfermin, a Phase III, potential best-in-class therapy for the treatment and prevention of steatotic liver disease; and the $1 billion acquisition of IDRx for a highly selective KIT tyrosine kinase inhibitor for gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Additional transactions include the $2 billion acquisition of Bellus Health for camlipixant in refractory chronic cough and the $1 billion acquisition of Aiolos Bio for a Phase II-ready, long-acting antibody targeting the clinically validated TSLP pathway in asthma, further strengthening GSK’s respiratory portfolio.

Under Chris’s leadership, GSK has also executed multiple strategic licensing and collaboration agreements, including partnerships with Hansoh Pharma for novel antibody–drug conjugates; WuXi Biologics for bi- and multi-specific T-cell engagers in oncology; and a broad strategic collaboration with Hengrui covering up to 12 medicines, including a Phase I PDE3/4 inhibitor for COPD. In infectious diseases, he led a peer licensing deal with Janssen for a Phase II-ready siRNA therapy for chronic hepatitis B.

Prior to joining GSK, Chris spent over 19 years at AstraZeneca, where he held senior leadership roles including Vice President and Head of Oncology Business Development within Oncology R&D, and Vice President and Head of Investor Relations. During his tenure, he led the evaluation and execution of AstraZeneca’s landmark co-development and co-promotion agreements with Daiichi Sankyo for Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) and Datroway (datopotamab deruxtecan), valued at $6.9 billion and $6 billion respectively, as well as the $6.4 billion acquisition of Acerta Pharma for Calquence (acalabrutinib), a best-in-class BTK inhibitor in haematology.

Chris began his career in discovery research at AstraZeneca as a Senior Research Chemist. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bristol and a first-class honours degree in Chemistry from the University of Sheffield.